Reason to Stay
by flipomatic
Summary: When Sayo, a roaming mercenary archer, journeys to the town of Circle looking for work, she never expects to find a reason to stay.
1. Chapter 1

Author Note: This is my project for NaNoWriMo 2018, which means the intention is to write 50,000 words in the month of November. My goal is to write the whole project this month and update once a week. I have never successfully completed a fic of this length, but I am ready to change that.

Every bandori character will make an appearance, though some only in cameos. I have tagged the most pertinent characters and ships for the entirety of the fic.

Welcome, and thank you for going on this journey with me!

* * *

Sayo walked up the cobblestone road at a brisk pace, eager to reach her destination before noon. She carried her bow strung over one shoulder, within reach if she were to need it. The quiver sat next to it, stocked full of arrows she'd both bought and fletched herself. A sword on her hip provided for close quarters combat, though Sayo was much more comfortable with the bow. Her bag weighed heavy against her back, full of the rest of her possessions.

She kept her long teal hair tied back as not to get caught in tree branches or, even worse, the string of her own bow. For armor she wore a light leather armor, which was sturdy enough to protect her from glancing blows but light enough that she could travel on foot in it. Since Sayo traveled frequently from town to town, that was an important perk.

The road Sayo walked was surrounded by fields on both sides. After hiring her for a few short jobs, the head of the nearby village sent her this way. He said the town's castle was looking to hire archers, and as a mercenary Sayo was always looking for work. Governments didn't pay better than other folk, but they were less likely to double cross her.

As Sayo approached the outer wall of the town, a few trees cropped up on the sides of the road. This side of town was protected by a three meter wall with a large gate over the road. Above the open gate a sign read "Circle" which Sayo had been told was the name of the town. She assumed that if they knew anything about defense then the other sides of the town would be similarly protected. A couple of city guards stood watch at the gate, barely paying Sayo any mind as she passed through.

Once inside, Sayo took in the new sights of this city. Near the edges she passed by both small and large houses. Local farmers went about their business as she passed, not paying any attention to the newcomer.

As she made it farther into the city, Sayo passed by the city markets. There was much more activity here, people milling about and trying to buy or sell goods. It already looked to be a healthy city, and Sayo had only just arrived. She kept her guard up as she walked by the stalls, always wary in a new location. One delicious smelling croquette shop almost distracted her, but she had to find work before she could eat.

As she walked through town she could see the castle in the distance. It towered above the other buildings, standing at least 20 meters high by Sayo's rough estimate. It had a tower in each corner to keep an eye for invaders and was decorated in red banners. A young woman stood on guard on a wall between two of the towers, looking out over the city. She was equipped with a bow, which was as it should be for a wall guard.

There were guards on the ground as well, with one positioned at the castle gate. The woman looked to be around Sayo's age, perhaps a little younger, with shoulder length brown hair tied up in two odd looking nubs. She wore light armor and carried a short sword and shield. Even as she stood guard her eyes darted from place to place, watching people as they passed by. Her gaze jumped to Sayo as she approached, showing that at least she was doing her job.

"Hello!" The guard greeted Sayo loudly. "What brings you to the castle, stranger?" Her words were vaguely unfriendly, but her tone the exact opposite. She kept her hands relaxed by her sides, so Sayo didn't take it as a threat.

"I'm looking for work." Sayo didn't bother with small talk. "And I heard they're hiring archers at this castle."

"Oh!" The guards eyes lit up even brighter than before. "So Moca got the word out, that's great!" She beamed, eyes moving to the bow on Sayo's back. "One moment, I'll have someone fetch Ran." Turning towards the open gate, she somehow raised her voice even louder and called inside. "Hey, Otae, can you go get Ran?" She gestured wildly with her arms. "I know you're guarding that door, but I'll keep an eye on it!" She shot a thumbs up through the gate before turning back to Sayo. "My name's Kasumi, what's yours?"

"Sayo." The archer responded bluntly, not sure how she felt about this energetic guard. Did this person actually focus and do her job? It didn't seem likely based on how she behaved.

"Where did you come from?" Kasumi asked with as much enthusiasm for small talk as she'd had for calling her fellow guard. "Is it far away?"

Sayo was less enthused about making conversation. "I'm from Haneoka." She said simply.

"Wow that's so far!" A few people walking by turned their heads at the outburst as Kasumi leaned towards Sayo excitedly.

Sayo refused to take a step back. "Not really." She replied at a normal and socially acceptable volume. "I've only been on the road for a year." Reluctantly she added this detail, caving into the small talk and hoping this Ran person would arrive soon.

"I've thought about traveling, but could never get enough time off of work." Kasumi leaned back out of Sayo's personal bubble, pouting a bit. That sounded strange to Sayo's ears; a normal guard should be able to take time off. Were the work conditions poor here?

Before she could ask, someone approached from inside the castle. "This is who Tae sent me to get?" The woman asked Kasumi, sharp red eyes analyzing Sayo's form. She had shoulder length black hair with a distinct red streak though one portion and dressed simply in a brown tunic and pants.

"Yup!" Kasumi's energy returned. "This is Sayo, she's an archer looking for a job." She pointed at Sayo with both hands.

Ran nodded once. "Follow me." She said, turning on one heel to head back through the gates. Sayo breathed a sigh of relief as she followed, glad to be away from the sheer noise Kasumi produced. They walked past another guard Sayo assumed to be Tae; a taller woman with long brown hair who was staring blankly dead ahead.

They made a few turns, Sayo making sure to remember which way they came from just in case of trouble. As they passed through a courtyard, a tinny sounding voice called out. Ran stopped walking abruptly at the sound.

"Raaaaaan." Another girl with shortish light brown hair was lounging in the courtyard. "Who is this? Is Ran cheating on Moca?" She held her head tilted as she looked up at them. Another strange person, Sayo thought.

Ran merely scoffed. "I'll tell you later." Was all she said before resuming walking, ignoring the other woman's calls for her to return. Sayo didn't cast a glance back as she followed; she didn't know that person and thus didn't care.

One turn later and a quick walk down a hallway led Ran and Sayo to their destination. When Ran opened the door it looked to be a weapons supply closet. Ran scooped up a large sack that sat near the entrance and turned back to Sayo.

"I'll hire you today to take these swords to the blacksmith. They're all rusty and need repair." Ran held out the bag, but Sayo was hesitant to accept it. Were they not looking for archers? This wasn't exactly an archer's position. Ran noticed her hesitation and added, "You'll be paid one hundred coins upon your return." Well, there was no question then. Sayo wasn't above doing this, not for a hundred coins. The swords weren't even worth that much covered in rust.

"Deal." Sayo accepted the bag, able to hold it in one hand despite its weight. "Where can I find your blacksmith?"

"She has a forge near the market. When you leave the castle turn right, then walk straight until you smell burning metal, about a kilometer away. When you return, ask Kasumi to bring you to my office."

"Very well." Sayo adjusted her grip on the bag, making sure she had it securely.

"Come," Ran gestured. "I'll show you how to get back out." She walked past Sayo back out into the hall, and when Sayo exited she closed the storeroom door. Sayo followed Ran back the way they came, indeed making the same turns in reverse to reach the front. Once there, Ran bid Sayo farewell with a nod an went back into the depths of the castle. Sayo walked out of the gates, telling Kasumi she'd be back. The excitable guard waved as Sayo turned right and walked off into town.

She passed through a different but similar region, with many people going about their days around her. The crowd was thick, so she had to be careful not to bump anyone with her bag of swords.

After about ten minutes of walking Sayo started looking around for a forge. She figured she'd walked far enough that it should be close. It turned out that, as Ran had said, she smelled it before she saw it.

The putrid scent of burnt metal was hard to miss, and guided Sayo off the road and towards a small building with one open wall. Inside a young woman stood over an anvil, examining some kind of weapon. She had shoulder length light brown hair, though it was darker color than the girl in the courtyard had, with noticeably muscular arms and a pair of rimmed glasses on her face.

"Excuse me." Sayo called out as she approached, not wanting to startle the girl too badly. "Are you the blacksmith who works with the castle?"

"Indeed I am!" The girl spun towards Sayo, a grin on her face. "What beauties have they sent me? Huehuehue." She laughed oddly as she eyed the bag in Sayo's grasp.

"Ran would like these swords repaired." Sayo deposited the bag next to the anvil, and the blacksmith opened it to look inside.

She picked one up, holding it up to look at it better. "Ooh these do need help. Tell Ran it'll be my usual fee."

"Will do." Sayo nodded firmly. She was about to turn and leave when the blacksmith stopped her.

"Oh." She dropped the sword back into the bag, moving to the back of her shop. "I just remembered, these are done and can be returned." She grabbed a similar looking sack to the one Sayo had brought, though a little smaller.

"Thank you." Sayo accepted the bag, which as indeed lighter than the one she'd brought. She bid the blacksmith farewell and made her exit, pretending she couldn't hear the woman cackling at the swords in the distance.

Sayo had only made it about thirty steps from the blacksmiths workshop when she felt something odd. It felt like someone was watching her. She looked around slowly at the people around her, pretending she was merely taking in the sights of a new town instead of searching for someone. None of the common folk were looking her way, and though she always had a niggling feeling that Hina might've followed her the other girl was nowhere in sight.

As she looked around, the feeling vanished. Even though it was gone, Sayo stayed on alert as she walked back to the castle. Maybe she shouldn't stay in this town too long, she mused. If someone was watching her here then it might not be safe.

When she arrived within eyesight of the gate, Kasumi gave a huge wave to welcome her back. Sayo didn't return it, figuring she could use the excuse that her hands were full.

"Welcome back!" Kasumi greeted her.

"Thanks." Sayo said politely. "Can you take me to Ran's office? She told me to ask you."

"Sure, in one minute." Kasumi agreed, probably since the order came from Ran. She called inside to the other guard to come watch her post for a few minutes and then led Sayo into the castle.

They weaved through completely different hallways than before, stopping at an ordinary looking door.

"This is it." Kasumi said with a gesture. She was about to walk away, but seemed to remember something. "Are those weapons from Maya?"

Sayo had no idea who Maya was. "Is that the blacksmiths name?"

"Yeah!"

"Then yes." So that was her name. Such an odd person, that blacksmith, Sayo couldn't help but think as she remembered the odd laughing.

"I'll take them, the most recent batch was for the guards." Kasumi reached out for the bag, and Sayo handed it to her. "Thanks! See you around." She said, walking away while somehow still waving even as she carried the sack.

Sayo knocked on the door, and when a voice told her to enter she did. Ran sat at a wood desk in the back, facing towards the door. She had a quill in hand and was writing on some parchment. Sayo walked in and stopped in front of the desk, waiting for Ran to finish.

When Ran was done writing she put her quill down and looked up at Sayo. "That was quick." She commented. "How did it go?"

"I found the blacksmith with no trouble and exchanged the weapons for a finished batch, which I entrusted to Kasumi." Sayo summed the task up in one sentence. She left out the part about being followed after leaving the blacksmith.

"Good." Ran sounded pleased, even if her expression didn't change. She opened a drawer in her desk and pulled out the number of coins promised earlier. "Here is your pay." She double counted the coins before depositing them into Sayo's hands. "I'll have more work for you tomorrow, if you're interested."

Even though she was thinking about leaving, one more day wouldn't hurt. "I'll be back then." Sayo said, confirming that she'd been paid the correct amount and depositing the coins in her bag. She said a brief goodbye, which Ran returned, before walking out the door.

Sayo retraced her steps to exit the castle, escaping without having to see Kasumi again since the guard was still off dealing with the weapons Sayo brough. She turned left this time when leaving the castle and looked around for an inn.

It only took her a few minutes to find one. A sign proudly proclaimed it to be "Michelle's Hideaway" with a pink bear drawn next to it, which wasn't too suspicious of a name. It was of decent size and constructed out of wood planks.

Sayo entered and wasn't offended by what she found. It was a standard little inn with some tables, a bar, and some rooms. She went to the bar to talk to the proprietor, a young woman with odd grey eyes and shoulder length black hair. Sayo had met a lot of people with similar haircuts that day.

"Do you have any rooms available for tonight?" Sayo asked, and the woman nodded.

"Just for you?" She asked to clarify.

"Yes, and I'd like a meal as well."

"Alright." The woman pulled out a key from under the counter. "It'll be 30 coins to stay per night and five for the meal. You pay upfront." She said the last line slowly and flatly, as if it had been an issue before.

Sayo had no problem with that and took 35 coins out of the ones she'd earned that day. She passed them over to the woman and received the key.

"You're in room four." The woman said before Sayo walked away. The room numbers were carved above the doors, so she was able to find room four with no problems.

Once inside, Sayo took off her weapons and sank down onto the bed.

She would go eat in a little while, but for now it was time to rest.

Today had been a long day, and even though she might leave town shortly it seemed to be a nice place so far. The people were a bit odd, but they were odd everywhere else too.

As she leaned back, Sayo released the ever present tension from her shoulders and for the first time that day allowed herself to relax.


	2. Chapter 2

Author Note: Starting in this chapter there will be some non-graphic violence in this fic.

* * *

Sayo woke with the rising sun, feeling rested and ready to face the day. She changed back into her armor and equipped her weapons to be prepared for any challenge. As for her traveling bag, she left it in the room. Since she was going back to the castle that day for another job, she would need to stay at least one more night in the inn.

When Sayo emerged from her room she locked the door behind her and headed towards the bar. There were less people around than the night before, probably since it was still early in the morning. Sayo sat down and purchased a bowl of porridge for breakfast, also telling the innkeeper that she wanted to stay an additional night. The woman had no problem with that, accepting the same amount of payment for the second night as she did for the first.

Once she was finished eating Sayo set off for the castle. There were only a few people out at this time of morning, with most still at home or outside of town tending their land. It was a relief to have thinner crowds, since if whoever followed Sayo the day before came back it would be easier to spot them.

After only a few minutes of walking Sayo reached the castle gates. They looked the same as before, open even at this early hour. A different guard stood out front today. The girl looked to be the same age as the previous guard, with chin length black hair and wide pink eyes. She carried similar equipment to the other guards Sayo had seen so far, though her demeanor varied greatly.

As Sayo approached, the girl almost seemed to shake. "G-good morning." She stuttered in a meek voice.

"Good morning." Sayo returned the greeting politely. "I'm here to see Ran." She said without waiting for the guard to ask why she was there.

"Oh, K-kasumi said you'd be by." This kid couldn't seem to manage a sentence without stuttering. "You can enter. She's u-usually in her office." She gestured towards the entrance with one hand, shoulders hunched.

Sayo was surprised that she was being granted admittance without an escort, but wasn't about to question it. "Thank you." She said as she passed by, walking through the gate. She navigated the hallways, only stopping at each corner for a moment to make sure she was turning the right direction.

When she arrived at the office, she knocked on the door and was granted entrance.

Ran sat in the same spot as the day before and was reading from a piece of parchment. She looked up as Sayo entered and approached. "I'm glad you came back." She said flatly.

"What will you have me do today?" Sayo jumped straight to business.

Ran's lips quirked up slightly. "You'll be hunting rabbits. The kitchen is short on meat and our head chef prefers freshly killed rather than bought from the market."

"Which way should I leave town to find a good population?" Sayo asked, thinking about how this head chef sounded like another oddball living in this town.

"Leave out of the west gate, there's a decent sized forest nearby." Ran provided the information. "I'll pay you 15 coins per rabbit, so bring them back here by nightfall." That was a fair price, though not as generous as the previous day.

"I'll take care of it." Sayo said with a nod, ending the conversation. She turned and walked towards the exit, pushing open the door. When she walked out, the young woman who'd been lounging in the courtyard the day before was waiting outside. She smirked oddly at Sayo as she passed; something about her gaze felt familiar, but Sayo couldn't place it.

Sayo left her behind, heading out of the castle. She passed by the timid guard on her way, not bothering to exchange words with the girl. A quick check of her handy compass showed that which way was west. The castle gate faced north, so she turned left and started walking.

She'd entered the previous day from the north gate, so this would be a different exit. The inn she was staying at was on the way out. It only took about half an hour of walking to reach the gate. There were guards here too, though they seemed to be different than the castle guards. They didn't pay Sayo any attention as she passed.

A road extended out the other side of the gate, one surrounded by trees. Indeed, there was a forest here. Sayo moved out of eyesight of the gate before entering the woods; she didn't want to arouse suspicion.

She drew her bow and moved slowly, looking for a source of water. Where there was water, there would be animals. Every once in a while she checked her compass, making sure she was headed in a steady direction so it would be easy to return to the road.

For a while all Sayo saw were squirrels and one large deer. There were bugs too, different kinds of insects along with beetles and spiders.

Then, after almost an hour of searching, Sayo found a small group of rabbits. She didn't move her feet after spotting them, notching an arrow lining up a shot on one of them. She aimed for the heart, right in the middle of the body. She just hoped her archery skills hadn't gotten rusty.

With a twitch of her fingers she released the arrow, and it flew true. One rabbit collapsed to the ground while the others fled in terror. Sayo approached her kill, removing the arrow and wiping it off on the grass to be reused. She pulled out a length of twine from her pockets, kept for instances such as these, and tied the rabbit's hind legs onto it. She then tied it to her belt and continued the search.

Though the first kill wasn't perfect, she was satisfied with it and continued on through the forest. The confidence boost in that accurate first shot would only help make the rest easier.

Her hunt would continue for the rest of the day.

* * *

Upon her return to the castle, Sayo walked by the same guard she'd seen that morning. The girl took one look at the string of rabbits and paled, shaking even worse than before.

Where did they find these guards? Sayo asked herself as she entered the castle. Both yesterday and today, these people just seemed strange.

She didn't run into anyone on the way to Ran's office and entered with a knock. A tall woman with long red hair was inside along with Ran, standing in full plate armor. She didn't say anything as Sayo walked in and towards the desk.

"Oh good, you have the rabbits." Ran reached down to her desk drawer. "How many did you get?"

"Six." Sayo lifted the rope to show all of the kills, each rabbit tied in sequence.

"Excellent." Ran took out the coins and passed them to Sayo. "Please take them to the kitchen, Tsugumi is expecting them." That wasn't part of the original deal, but the pay was good enough so Sayo wasn't going to complain.

She asked for directions on how to get there, which Ran provided. Sayo wondered who the other woman in the room was, but prided herself on having enough tact not to ask. She bid Ran farewell and exited, off to find the kitchen.

As she walked, Sayo passed by another group of women in armor, four of them walking together. One, with light brown hair tied up, was talking animatedly to a girl with silver hair. The shortest in their group, a girl with pigtails who looked too young to be a knight, glanced at Sayo inquisitively as they passed. The rest didn't notice her or just didn't care.

Soon Sayo noticed the faint aroma of baking bread, along with cooking meat. She followed it the rest of the way to what she assumed was the kitchen. Sayo pushed the door open and entered, looking around at the setup.

There were five people bustling around the space, which was about four meters across each way. They worked at multiple work stations preparing all different kinds of food. Sayo's eyes stopped on a young woman with chin length brown hair. She held a kitchen knife in one hand and was chopping vegetables at a speed beyond Sayo's comprehension.

She must've felt Sayo's eyes on her, because she looked up and directly at her. Her brown eyes were wide and friendly, and she greeted Sayo with a smile. That smile, so bright and beaming, froze Sayo in place.

"Hello!" The woman called over, putting down the kitchen knife. "You must be Sayo. I'm Tsugumi, it's nice to meet you!" So this was the person in charge of the kitchen, the head chef. She walked over to where Sayo stood, unmoving, and reached out for a handshake.

Sayo recovered her senses enough to return the gesture. Tsugumi's hand felt warm against her own. "Likewise." She said, pulling back from the exchange and untying the rabbits from her belt. "These are for you." Tsugumi took the string from her, lifting the rabbits to examine them.

"You must be an excellent archer." She commented, causing Sayo's cheeks to warm. "To make such clean kills." Sure, she was good, but she wasn't _that_ good. She practiced hard and frequently, but there were always better archers out there. A flash of blue hair popped into her mind, but she pushed the thought away.

"I'm about average." Was what Sayo replied with, which in retrospect might not have been the best thing to say.

"Nonsense, I'm sure you're great." Tsugumi didn't seem to think anything of it and even replied with a complement, one that caused Sayo to break eye contact. "Thanks for getting them!" Tsugumi turned back to the kitchen. "Saya, when you're done with that can you skin these?"

"Yes." Another kitchen worker replied, meeting Tsugumi half way to take the rabbits from her. The woman, who Sayo presumed was Saya, looked up at her. "Anything else we can do for you?" She asked, a light grin on her face.

Sayo snapped out of the sort of trance she'd found herself in. "No, I was just heading out." She turned away to leave and heard Tsugumi call a farewell after her.

With the task complete and the coins in her pocket, Sayo weaved her way back out of the castle.

As she walked back towards the inn, she wondered what she should do tomorrow.


	3. Chapter 3

Author Note: Chapter 3, right on schedule.

* * *

When Sayo arose the next morning, she once again contemplated leaving the town. They hadn't exactly hired her for the most substantial of jobs, but the pay had been good. The tasks had been easy, but that also meant they hadn't used her full range of skills.

She went to eat some breakfast, still unsure of her plan for the day. There was already one person at the bar when she arrived, a young woman with ragged blonde hair who was waving her arms around wildly.

"Now would be the perfect time for a performance!" She was almost bouncing in her seat as Sayo took a stool a few away from her. Her voice was incredibly high pitched.

"Everyone is still asleep." The innkeeper replied flatly.

"But Misaki, there's one person here!" The blonde gestured in Sayo's direction. "We must entertain her!" She thrust one finger in the air.

The innkeeper, who Sayo had just learned was named Misaki, shook her head. "Kokoro, no."

"Awww." Kokoro pouted as Misaki walked over to Sayo. She offered her a bowl of porridge, the same kind as the day before, and asked if Sayo would be staying another night.

Well, she decided, what would be the harm? She might as well go back for another day of work. Sayo paid for her breakfast and for another night at the inn. As she ate she listened to Kokoro ramble on, something about how happy her singing made people. Sayo found her a bit annoying, but was soon ready to head out so it didn't matter.

After making sure she had all of her equipment, Sayo walked the short distance to the castle. One of the guards she'd seen on the first day, she couldn't quite remember her name, was guarding the gate. Did it start with an O or a T? It didn't really matter.

Sayo entered the castle and followed the now familiar route towards Ran's office. She was almost there, about to make the last turn, when a voice stopped her.

"Wow, you came back." A girl Sayo had already seen in the castle twice before had popped out of a room behind her and was slouching casually. She wore simple clothes; dark brown pants and a tunic. Sayo couldn't see a weapon on her, but that didn't mean that she was unarmed. "Guess I lost the bet~" She said in a slow lilting tone.

"I'm sorry, I never caught your name." Sayo ignored the notion that a bet had been placed on her continued presence; she didn't care to worry about such things.

"I'm Moca." The girl replied with a tilt of her head. "And you're Sayo, correct?" She smirked in an unsettling manner.

"I am." Sayo nodded, responding politely. "It was nice to meet you, but I must be going." With that deliberate ending to the conversation, Sayo turned and continued her trek. She resisted the urge to look back and check if Moca had moved on.

Once Sayo reached the office she knocked and was granted admittance. Ran sat at her desk, as usual, but there were two other women in the room. Sayo had seen them the day before, walking in a group of four. They were dressed in plate armor, armed with both swords and shields tied to their hips. One had long silver hair and striking gold eyes. She narrowed her eyes and turned slowly towards Sayo as she entered, one hand meandering casually past the hilt of her sword.

The other woman had long light brown hair tied up in a pony-tail. She smiled brightly at Sayo, in stark contrast to her friend.

Sayo waited just inside the room entrance to be spoken to, unsure of how to proceed and not wanting to get in a fight.

Ran broke the silence. "Good, all three of you are here now." She gestured for Sayo to close the door behind her and fully enter the room. Sayo did so and slowly walked towards the desk. The silver haired woman put her hand back down, but kept her gaze on Sayo. "Sayo, the job I have in mind could take a couple days. Are you still interested?"

Hadn't Sayo just been thinking that morning about how the jobs had been kind of dull? Something that took a few days might be more interesting and demand more of her skill. She was starting to get rusty, so a more extensive task could be just what she needed. "Yes, I am." She replied.

"Excellent. You will be teaming up with these two knights to hunt down a group of bandits. They've been attacking trade caravans coming to the city and it needs to stop." Ran looked between the three of them as she spoke.

Now Sayo had a problem. "I usually work alone." She interjected, crossing her arms with a frown. It wasn't that she had anything against these knights, but she could hunt bandits by herself.

Ran's lips turned down at this. "I'm grouping you with them since they need ranged support. If you won't do it, I'll find someone else." She said firmly while looking directly at Sayo.

Sayo had a feeling, based solely on her interactions with Ran so far, that if she turned down this job they wouldn't hire her here again. Even though she debated leaving just an hour before, she wasn't prepared to cut ties with this castle over a simple matter such as this. "Fine, I'll do it." Sayo said, putting her arms back down by her sides in a show of compliance.

"Good." Ran's posture relaxed minutely. "This is Yukina and Lisa. The three of you will work together to hunt down the bandits. You will be paid upon your return." Sayo resisted a sigh, having to work with other people was going to be troublesome. She started walking towards the door, but was stopped by the knight with tied back hair.

"I'm Lisa." She said with a big smile as she stepped into Sayo's path. "Nice to meet you!"

"Likewise." Sayo said as she stepped around Lisa, opening the door. They should at least get out of Ran's office before discussing anything. Maybe if she just walked away they wouldn't follow her.

"Yukina and I have both been knights for about a year." Lisa continued speaking as she followed Sayo out the door. "So we haven't been in too many battles." Her voice trailed off at that, and Sayo wondered if these two knights were competent enough to work on her level.

"I hope you can keep up with us." The other knight, who must've been Yukina, said as she closed the door to behind them.

Sayo bristled at the comment. "I should say the same." She said coolly, looking down and noting that Yukina was significantly shorter than her.

Yukina's lips curved up at that, eyes glinting in the low light of the hallway.

"I think we should ask around the market." Lisa broke the moment, getting down to business. "Since it's trade caravans being attacked, the merchants might be able to help us pin down a location."

"Sounds good." Yukina responded, tearing her gaze away from Sayo's.

That sounded like a decent start to Sayo, since without any additional information the would just be searching for tracks in the wilderness.

The trio walked out of the castle and past the guard whose name Sayo still couldn't remember. She allowed Lisa to lead to the market, which ended up being north of the castle. When Sayo first entered the town she had passed through this market.

"Let's split up." Sayo suggested as they neared the busy portion. "We'll cover more ground that way."

"Okay." Lisa grinned, causing Sayo to wonder if this woman was always so happy. "We'll meet back here in half an hour."

Yukina nodded and the three separated. Sayo took a side street and looked around at the different merchants. One selling foreign goods would be more likely to have imported them and would thus be more likely to have information on the bandits.

Using that logic, Sayo approached a merchant selling clothes in the style of multiple cities. Unfortunately, the shop owner hadn't heard about the bandits. Sayo thanked them for their time and moved on.

She stopped and spoke to a number of merchants without much luck. Most hadn't encountered the bandits, and if they did then their caravan had been completely lost. She was talking to one selling trinkets when another vendor interrupted.

"Hagumi saw some bandits!" The girl was running a nearby croquette stand; she must've overheard Sayo talking. "Not too far from town."

Sayo moved over to her stand, taking in the sight of the girl. She had short bright orange hair and was bouncing lightly on her toes. "Where did you see them?"

"A few kilometers east of here, Hagumi saw them near the lake while picking berries." The girl chimed. "Almost walked into their camp, it was real scary." She seemed happy despite remembering the danger.

"How many people were there? What weapons did they have?" Sayo asked to get more information, though no matter what the answer was they would have to hunt them down regardless.

"Four or five with swords? Hagumi's not sure." The girl mused, one hand on her chin. "One had a bow too." So that meant at least six people. Sayo was a little glad she hadn't taken the job on alone.

"Thank you for your help." She said sincerely. Sayo reached into her pocket for a couple coins. "I'll take a croquette." She might as well, considering how much information the girl just gave her.

"Have a great day!" The croquette seller said as she handed Sayo the food. Bounty claimed, Sayo ate her snack as she walked back towards the meeting place. She arrived a few minutes early, but the others should be there soon.

Sayo had just finished the croquette when Lisa and Yukina walked up. Somehow they were already together, despite having split up into individual groups.

"What did you find?" Sayo asked, wanting to know what they learned before offering up her information.

"There was a caravan wrecked yesterday a couple kilometers east of here." Yukina pulled out a map and opened it, showing both Lisa and Sayo where the wreck was. "The wheels were destroyed in the attack, so they only took the goods."

"Great job Yukina!" Lisa's grin remained on her face. "I wasn't able to learn anything new." She shook her head as she spoke. "How about you Sayo?"

"One merchant saw their camp near a lake." Sayo peered down at the map. "Which must be near that raided caravan."

Lisa put her finger on a body of water not too far from the marked spot. "Lake Harold is right near there. I bet that's where they are!"

"That's where we're going then." Yukina rolled the map back up, depositing it in her bag. "We'll be out of the city at least one night at that distance, so let's make arrangements and meet at the stables in two hours." She was looking right at Sayo, as if this statement were more for her than for Lisa.

"Alright." Sayo agreed, and the three once again split up. Well, Sayo split off from them. She had a feeling the other two knights would remain together this time.

Whatever, she scoffed, she had a lot of prep to do and no time to be bothering with the petty relationships of knights.


	4. Chapter 4

Author Note: Onward we go!

* * *

After getting everything in order, Sayo found herself at the castle stables. She had gone to the inn after they split up to get the rest of her belongings and to speak with the innkeeper. Since she already paid for another night, Misaki told her she could use that one night when she returned to town.

This annoyed Sayo a bit, since perhaps the woman was bidding on her dying on this mission in order to keep the money, but ultimately it didn't matter. If she died then she wouldn't need the money anyway. She agreed to the terms and then went to practice archery. There would be bandits to fight on this journey and being rusty could get her killed. Sayo found a clearing just outside of town and practiced on a tree. It wasn't the ideal target, but it was good enough to hone her skills and make sure she was ready for the task to come.

Sayo then went to the castle and asked the guard how to get to the stables. The woman looked at her as if she'd grown another head, but gave the directions she asked for. When Sayo arrived at the stables Yukina and Lisa were already standing in front of it, talking to a shorter woman with hair a lighter shade of blue than Sayo's. Lisa was carrying a shield significantly larger than the one strapped to her hip that morning and Yukina had an additional sword strapped to her back. Another girl stood with them as well, the girl with pigtails who Sayo saw the previous day. She was a whole head shorter than the others present, perhaps a teenager. There was an additional gate near the stables, taller than the one in front of the castle.

"I got enough rations for three days." The pigtailed girl was saying, handing a sack over to Yukina.

"Good work Ako." Yukina acknowledged her as she accepted the bag. Sayo noted the girls name, Ako, in her mind. "Stay out of trouble while we're gone."

"Of course I will!" Ako puffed up her chest, not seeing Lisa chuckling beside her. "Though the forces of darkness can't always be controlled." She laughed darkly.

Sayo was tired of eavesdropping and closed the distance between herself and the others, making her presence known.

"Hey Sayo!" Lisa greeted her warmly. "We're just getting ready to head out. This amazing woman is our stablemaster Kanon." She gestured with one hand and then turned towards the blue haired woman. "Kanon, this is Sayo. Is there a horse she can borrow? It's only for a couple days."

"Umm…" Kanon held her hands together nervously, eyeing a spot over Sayo's shoulder. "I think Neko might be available." She wrung her hands in a repetitive motion.

"Fantastic." Lisa beamed. "You're the best!" She put one arm around Kanon, patting her on the back.

A light pink dusted over Kanon's cheeks. "It's no problem." She muttered quietly. "We should go get the horses." She stepped away from Lisa's grasp and led the group into the stables. Sayo's eyes adjusted quickly to the dim light.

Yukina and Lisa each went to a different stall, likely the ones containing their horses. Ako stuck with Yukina. Sayo followed Kanon to a different section of the stables, stopping in front of a stall with a dark brown horse in it.

"This is Neko." Kanon opened the stall door and Sayo stepped forward. "She's a good horse. You should umm, introduce yourself. I'll be right back with the supplies." She vanished to accomplish that task, leaving Sayo alone with the horse. She felt mostly confident; her track record with horses was around 75 percent.

"Hello." Sayo said lowly as she reached one hand towards the horse's neck. "I'll be riding you for the next couple days, please be kind to me." The great beast barely reacted as Sayo touched it, gently running her fingers down the side of its neck. This was a good start; they were going to get along well.

Kanon reappeared behind her, startling Sayo slightly. "Excuse me." She said just loud enough to hear, and Sayo backed out of the stall to let Kanon take her place. The woman brought a saddle, bridle, saddlebags, and what Sayo assumed to be a bag of feed for the horse. Sayo watched as she put the saddle on, cooing gently at the horse in the process.

After a few minutes, the horse was ready. Kanon led her forward out of the stall, and handed the reigns to Sayo. With one last thanks, Sayo accepted the reigns. She walked the horse out of the stable, to where Yukina and Lisa had already mounted up. They rode matching light brown horses, with tan spots in different places. Ako stood nearby and was chatting energetically with Yukina. Sayo quickly stowed her belongings along with the feed in the saddle bags. She didn't have that many things, so it didn't take long.

Sayo lifted herself up onto the horse. It had been a while since she rode one, but she was competent enough at it to manage for a couple days.

"I'm ready." She called over to the pair of knights.

"Let's go then." Yukina said as she started her horse walking, with Lisa and then Sayo following behind.

Ako waved as they left the side gate. "Bye!" She called after them, before shutting the gate behind them.

The trio took a side road towards the east gate, moving at a walking pace and taking care not to injure any civilians. Yukina took the lead as their horses walked in almost single file. The group soon reached the gate and emerged onto the open road. They stopped and dismounted for a moment to double check the map and make some plans.

"The lake is about five kilometers east of town." Yukina pointed to it on the map. "And I think our best strategy would be to attack in the early morning, before the sun rises."

"That's a good idea." Sayo found herself agreeing. "They won't be expecting it."

Yukina nodded. "Exactly."

Lisa's eyebrows scrunched up. "We'll need to find a place to camp then." She leaned over the map, placing one finger down about a kilometer west of the lake. "If I remember correctly, there's a clearing near here." It was impressive that she knew the area well enough to know that.

"That works." Yukina marked the spot. "As for riding formation, I'll take the lead." She said as she rolled up the map.

"No way." Lisa protested with the first frown Sayo had seen from her. "I'll be in the lead, and the two of you should ride side by side behind me." She made a little triangle with her fingers to show the formation.

Sayo, for her part, didn't want to ride in the lead. Since she didn't carry a shield, she should be somewhere in the back. She also wasn't sure why these two were arguing about it; it seemed clear to her that Lisa, who carried a larger shield, should take the head of the party. If they encountered danger then she would be most likely to survive a frontal assault.

What kind of odd knights were these that they would fight about something such as this?

They went back and forth for a few minutes, each insisting that they head the group. Their words remained at a regular speaking volume but increased in ferocity.

After ten minutes Sayo just couldn't take it anymore.

"We're burning daylight." She scowled as the pair both turned to her in surprise. "Just let Lisa take the lead so we can get out of here." Yukina's frown deepened at her interjection, but Lisa regained her smile.

"See, Sayo agrees with me." She said firmly and, seeming to consider the conversation over, returned to her horse. "Let's go, I'll take the front."

Sayo remounted as well, ignoring the angry golden eyes following her every move. Within a minute they were ready to move out and set off down the road at a trot. It would take a couple hours to reach their camping location at this pace, but they had plenty of time and didn't need to burn out the horses.

They rode in silence for the first ten minutes, with Sayo taking up the back left corner of the triangle. She kept her eyes alert for danger, which would become more and more likely the farther they journeyed from the city.

The small talk caught her off guard.

"Where are you from, Sayo?" Lisa asked from her hard fought for spot in the front, turning her head back towards Sayo to be heard.

"Haneoka." She replied, only providing the basics. She kept her eyes on the horizon as they rode.

"Wow," Lisa seemed satisfied with the answer. "You've come a long way to Circle then."

"I suppose." Sayo mused, thinking about all the detours that brought her here and the reason she left home on the first place.

Lisa continued speaking, somehow able to make conversation even out of the barest of responses. "Yukina and I have lived here our whole lives, we joined up as pages when we were kids."

"Interesting." Sayo responded levelly. "So you're both close combatants then?" Considering the weapons they carried, this was a safe assumption.

"Yes." Yukina contributed to the conversation for the first time. "I prefer the longsword." She reached up with one hand to touch the hilt of the blade on her back. "Lisa uses a short sword and shield." That matched what Sayo assumed based on their equipment, and she was glad Lisa was riding in the front.

"I'm primarily an archer." Sayo looked between the two of them. "But I can also use a short sword." She didn't add that she was only mediocre with the sword.

"When we encounter them, we'll charge in." Lisa added from the front, thankfully switching out of small talk mode and into strategy mode. "You can hang back and shoot."

"I'll aim for the archer first." Sayo said with a nod. "And then support you against the others."

"Sounds like a good plan." Lisa shot back a thumbs up.

The rest of the ride continue in scattered conversation, mostly between Lisa and Yukina. They talked about all sorts of different things, some castle gossip and other topics. Though they had been arguing earlier, Sayo thought they seemed close.

They reached the designated camping spot around early evening after venturing off the road. It was a small area clear of trees that would serve well enough for one night.

Sayo followed the others lead in tying her horse to a tree, setting up camp with them. They couldn't light a fire since the bandits were so close and would see the smoke, so they merely took out the rations supplied by the castle.

Yukina divvied up a portion to each member, starting with a set of sandwiches. Sayo ate it quickly; she was hungry after riding through the afternoon. It had some kind of meat inside, perhaps some of the rabbits she caught the day before? Whatever it was, it was well seasoned and delicious.

As they ate, the sun started to set in the distance. They discussed who would take which watch, with Sayo volunteering to take the first one. The other two didn't object, so Sayo agreed to wake Lisa at the designated time.

She sat on one side of the clearing as they took out their bed rolls, watching and listening carefully for danger. Yukina and Lisa lied down right next to each other, with barely ten centimeters of space between them. Sayo kept her bow at the ready while she kept watch.

Her shift was only for the first part of the night, but she still might have trouble sleeping near these two knights. As close combatants they would have an advantage if they turned on her, so she had to be careful. They seemed trustworthy so far, but not everyone was as they seemed.


	5. Chapter 5

Author Note: The violence is back in this chapter. Consider yourself warned.

* * *

Sayo woke, as usual, with the rising sun. She held her sheathed sword close in her sleep, just in case of a surprise attack. She looked around and saw that only one of the two knights were in the clearing. She quickly folded up her blankets and went to join the knight, who was sitting on the ground.

"Good morning." Sayo greeted Yukina as not to startle her, but still golden eyes jumped up. "Where is Lisa?" Sayo asked, double checking again that the other knight was nowhere to be seen.

"Scouting out the camp." Was all Yukina offered in response. She had some hard crackers in her hands, likely also from the rations, and offered Sayo one. She accepted it and sat down, surprised to find that, despite being a cracker, it tasted pretty good.

Not willing to start a conversation and unsure of what they would talk about if she did, Sayo ate her breakfast in silence.

About ten minutes passed until Sayo heard someone approaching. She took her bow off her shoulder, but Yukina shook her head and raised one hand to stop her. A moment later Lisa appeared out of the trees. She was dressed in dark colors, perhaps to blend in with the shrubbery.

"They're right where the merchant saw them." Lisa said as she started putting on her armor. "Four swords, one axe, and a bow." Yukina and Sayo rose as well to get ready. Their group, with two knights and a skilled archer, could handle six bandits.

Sayo first fed her horse, allowing Neko to eat from the feed provided by the stables. While the horse ate she made sure all of her belongings were still in the saddle bags and double checked her arrows. She then untied the reins from the tree and guided Neko into the clearing.

She only had to wait a few minutes for both Yukina and Lisa to be ready. Once they were all mounted up, Lisa led them in the direction of the camp. It was only a short ride away.

As they approached Lisa brought her horse to a walk, signaling for Sayo and Yukina to do the same. They walked until they could see the camp in the trees, which only consisted of a couple tents, and then brought the horses to a gallop to charge.

Sayo took up a position in the rear as they charged, drawing her bow and an arrow. By the time Sayo reached the camp Lisa had already cut down one of the unsuspecting swordsmen and Yukina had crossed swords with one of them by her side. The two made a dangerous pair; Lisa's shield was combined with Yukina's swift sword strikes.

Sayo pulled her horse to a trot and notched her arrow, looking around for the archer who was designated to be her first target. They were off to the right, already taking aim towards Yukina's exposed side. Sayo adjusted her aim quickly, barely taking a moment to account for the slight breeze as she drew the string back fully and released. The arrow flew true, piercing through the bandit's neck. They collapsed, the bow falling limp from their hands.

When Sayo turned her gaze back to the rest of the group there were only three bandits remaining, two carrying swords and the one with the axe. The axe bearer had seen the archer fall and was headed Sayo's way. She didn't have time to aim, only to leap from her horse and draw her sword.

By the time the axe wielder reached her, her sword was up. She deflected his first strike, moving as to avoid the force of the blow. He swung again quickly, and though she dodged the axe grazed her left forearm.

A jolt of pain surged through her, but not severe enough to stop her from countering. She stepped inside the man's guard, where he wouldn't be able to swing, and drove her sword through a small gap in his armor. He dropped the axe, and when Sayo withdrew the sword he collapsed.

Sayo quickly brought her sword back up to ready position, casting her eyes around for another enemy, but it was already over. The knights had taken care of the other swordsmen.

Yukina, Lisa, and Sayo were the only ones left standing. Sayo picked up her bow from where it had fallen and sheathed her sword. Her own sleeve functioned as a temporary compress for the wound, which was only skin deep. She walked over to her horse, which had just stood where she'd left it, and guided it over to Yukina and Lisa.

The pair didn't look too worse for wear. Yukina's clothes had blood on them, though Sayo wasn't sure whether it was her own or not. Lisa was slightly out of breath, but appeared unharmed. She stepped away and looked inside the bandit's tent. Both of their horses looked completely unbothered, like true warhorses, though one had some blood on its side.

"Looks like they still have the goods they stole." Lisa said as she turned away from the tent. "We should have Ran send a caravan to pick them up." She looked around with a sigh. "And to bury the bodies."

"Indeed." Yukina replied in her usual cool tone. "They should be able to do it today, if we make it back quickly." She looked over at Sayo. "That was a good shot, you saved me."

Sayo felt flustered at the compliment, though that could've been the minor blood loss talking. "Your swordsmanship was excellent too, if the two of you hadn't held them I wouldn't have been able to shoot."

Lisa cracked a faint smile. "We made a good team." She said before walking toward her horse. "Are either of you hurt?" Her smile immediately fainted when they both nodded. "Okay, let's move away from here and get you bandaged up." She walked to her horse, grabbing the reins. "These bodies give me the creeps."

Yukina and Sayo followed suit, walking with their horses away from camp. Sayo could feel her wound pulsing with every step, but she would be bandaging it soon. They only walked for a few minutes, just far enough away that they couldn't see the bandit camp, before stopping.

"Alright Yukina, let me see." Lisa insisted, sitting Yukina down on a fallen tree. Yukina lifted her shirt, revealing a bleeding wound on her right side. "Jeez Yukina, is it deep?"

"No." Yukina maintained her calm even in this. Lisa grabbed some bandages from her saddlebags, folding them to use as a compress.

"Hold still." She said, applying pressure to the wound.

Sayo watched the pair as she did something similar. She took some cloth bandages out of her bag, making a compress as well. She held it firmly on her wound, and then wrapped a longer bandage around it and tied it to hold it in place. It wasn't perfect, but was good enough for the field. The injury was shallow and shouldn't bleed through the bandages. After she finished, the knights were still working.

While watching Lisa fuss over Yukina's relatively minor injury, Sayo couldn't help but ask. "Are you two married?"

Lisa almost dropped the compress and Yukina's eyes widened in the first show of surprise Sayo had seen from her. "W-what? No of course not!" Lisa spluttered, cheeks flushed pink. She turned back towards Yukina as if to hide her face.

"Sorry for asking." Sayo almost chuckled at the reaction. She moved her arm, testing the mobility. It hurt when she lifted it, but was manageable.

"I can help you next, if you'd like." Lisa changed the topic, now having Yukina hold the compress in place while she wrapped bandages over it.

Sayo shook her head. "No thanks, I've got it." She patted the completed bandage, forcing herself not to flinch at the pain. Lisa accepted that answer and resumed wrapping Yukina's wound. Once she finished she tied the bandages and gently tugged Yukina's shirt back down. Even though they said they weren't married, Sayo still felt the need to avert her gaze for that part. It felt like she was intruding on something.

With all wounds bandaged, they were ready to move out. They mounted up and started at a walk, with Lisa once again taking the lead. After a few minutes they tried a trot, and though Yukina was grimacing she said it would be okay. After all, they needed to get back early to send a caravan back for the stolen goods.

For Sayo's part, she was largely able to forget the pain in her arm as they rode since she was focused on keeping an eye out for danger.

Within a couple hours they reached the city walls and gained admittance. They moved at a walk through the town, drawing a few stares and soon arriving at the castle. The stable gate was open, so they walked on in.

Kanon was there feeding the horses. "Welcome back." She said as they entered, flinching away when she noticed the blood. Sayo took her belongings out of the saddle bags and then handed Kanon the reins.

"Thank you for lending her to me." Sayo pushed her lips up in a smile, trying to appease the timid woman. "She's a great horse."

Kanon thanked Sayo in return for taking care of her, before taking the horse back to her stall. Yukina and Lisa deposited their horses in their stalls as well, telling Kanon they'd be back in about ten minutes to take care of them.

The trio left the stables and headed to Ran's office, where Lisa knocked on the door. They entered the room and Ran looked only a little surprised to see them.

Sayo let Lisa do the talking. She summarized their journey, battle plan, and how the conflict had gone. She reported that the stolen goods were still there and that a caravan should be sent. Ran accepted all of this and offered Sayo her payment before dismissing them.

They left the office, closing the door and stopping in the hallway.

"It was great working with you, Sayo!" Lisa said enthusiastically, seeming to mean it. Sayo wasn't sure if she agreed with the sentiment; she hadn't had a terrible time, but had it been great? "See you around." Lisa grinned.

"Goodbye." Was all Yukina said, following Lisa back towards the stables to tend to their horses.

"Farewell." Sayo said quietly as they turned the corner away from her. She didn't stay long, walking towards the castle entrance and emerging out onto the street. Sayo didn't pay the gate guard any mind as she passed, walking towards the inn she'd been staying at.

To her credit, the innkeeper didn't react to the bloodstains on Sayo's clothes. She merely directed her to a public bath where she could wash her wounded body, giving Sayo the directions and sending her on her way.

One bath and a hearty meal later, Sayo found herself sitting in her room at the inn, rebandaging the wound and thinking. If she was better with the sword, faster at dodging, then she wouldn't have gotten hurt today. She cursed her own slowness. Even worse, if she was more confident in her shooting she might've been able to take out the axe wielder before he got into range. Alas, her lack of confidence failed her yet again.

At least the wound wasn't too bad. It had stopped bleeding, but was still raw and red. Sayo put a healing poultice on it, one she bought before going to the baths, and rebandaged it.

She tied it tightly, making sure it was securely in place.

It had been a long day.

* * *

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	6. Chapter 6

In the morning, Sayo checked her wound again. It had started to scab over while she slept, so she reapplied the poultice and wrapped it back up. With the bandages and her sleeve covering it, it would be protected during the day. There was only a minor twinge of pain when she moved her arm, so she felt confident it would be okay for her to work today.

Sayo ate some breakfast and paid for another night at the inn before heading out to the castle. Kasumi was posted in front of the gate, and she greeted Sayo enthusiastically.

"I heard you wiped out those bandits." Kasumi said while pantomiming shooting a bow. She moved in large exaggerated motions.

Sayo hadn't intended to stop and talk to her, but found herself doing so anyway. "It was a group effort." She wasn't willing to take all of the credit; after all she'd messed up during the attack. Yukina and Lisa did most of the fighting.

"They way Lisa told it, you were so cool!" Kasumi continued with the praise, grinning from ear to ear.

Sayo could only sigh and politely thank her. She bid Kasumi farewell and entered the castle grounds, walking the path to Ran's office. She wondered if the people here weren't growing too familiar with her, if she should be moving on soon. Regardless, she was already her for the day.

When Sayo entered the office, Ran was alone. She looked up as Sayo entered and crossed the room.

Ran gave her brief customary greeting and then got straight to business. "I would like to hire you for the next two days." She said, hands together on the table in front of her. "The princess is holding a social gathering tomorrow and we need some additional hands. You will spend today preparing for the event, and tomorrow guarding during it." She added how much the pay would be and asked Sayo if she would agree to the job.

Sayo had no reason to turn it down. "I accept the job." She said with a nod.

"You have two tasks today. The first is to find the gardener and assist her in getting the flower beds ready for tomorrow. Her name is Arisa. She's short, blonde, and foul tempered. You'll probably find her working on the plants in the courtyard. When she's finished with you, head to the kitchen and help with anything they might need." Ran listed off the instructions, and Sayo made a mental note. She felt a trill of anticipation at getting to go back to the kitchens, but couldn't put her finger on why. Perhaps it was because she'd get to smell all of the delicious food they were making.

With the instructions delivered, Ran dismissed her.

Sayo left to get started, searching first for the gardener. She walked to the open section in the middle of the castle, which she was assumed was the courtyard, and looked for her there. There were already a few people present.

A sparring pair caught Sayo's eye, on the opposite side of the courtyard from where she entered. They consisted of the red haired woman she'd seen in Ran's office before and a young woman with bright pink hair. They sparred with wood swords, and even from this distance Sayo could tell that the red haired woman was by far a superior swordsman. She couldn't hear them, but it looked like they were bantering as they sparred.

There was one other person in the courtyard, who Sayo's eyes skipped over the first time she looked around. This person was kneeling by some flowers, head down as she examined them. She had blonde hair, and when Sayo finally noticed her she wondered if this was Arisa. She was covered in dirt and certainly looked like a gardener.

"Excuse me." Sayo said as she approached the girl. She received no response, so she tried again. "Pardon me." This time she spoke louder and the blonde woman actually reacted.

She turned only her head away from the flowers. "I'm busy." She spat, immediately returning to the plants.

Sayo held in a sigh. "Are you Arisa?" She asked. "I've been assigned to assist with gardening today." She remained calm and polite, despite the surly initial response.

"Oh, why didn't you say so?" The blonde woman rose to her feet, brushing dirt off of her pants, and still grumbling. "C'mon, I've got the perfect job for you." She started walking to another flower bed, with Sayo following behind.

When she reached the bed, Arisa leaned over and picked up a long necked shovel that was laying nearby. She held it out towards Sayo until she took it. This bed was mostly dirt and what looked to be small weeds, with only a few flowers.

"I'm replacing this entire bed." Arisa pointed at the square meter's worth of space. "So I need you to dig out the top layer. Make a dirt pile on one side and aim for about ten centimeters deep."

"Alright." Sayo replied, hafting the shovel. Seemingly satisfied that Sayo understood the directions, Arisa went back to the previous flower bed.

Sayo adjusted her grip on the shovel and got to work. She dug the head of the shovel into the dirt, leaning it back and lifting to move the earth. It was soft and split easily. She started a pile near the bed, slowly adding more and more to it. Her injury started to itch in the process, but she ignored it. As long as it stayed clean, it wouldn't be an issue.

Time passed as the sun beat down, with Sayo continuing to shovel the dirt. The sparring pair finished and left, leaving Sayo alone in the courtyard with Arisa. The blonde woman was too far away to speak with, and even if she were closer Sayo didn't really feel like talking to her. It was hard enough to shovel, let alone shovel and talk at the same time.

A few people passed through the courtyard while Sayo worked, but she didn't pay them any mind.

After Sayo had been at it for what felt like a couple hours, she thought the task might be complete. She had dug out the entire bed, depositing the dirt in one spot. The whole thing was as deep as the head of her shovel, which was close enough to ten centimeters.

She called over Arisa to check, and the woman inspected her work with crossed arms. After a few long moments, she said it was good enough. She took back the shovel and dismissed Sayo, telling her to go bother somebody else.

This was fine, Sayo was tired of her company too.

Remembering her meeting with Ran that morning, Sayo knew her next task was to report to the kitchen. She knew where it was since she'd been there once before, which wasn't too far from the courtyard.

A few minutes later Sayo was pushing the door open and entering the kitchen. It was largely the same as the last time she'd been there, with one exception. The cooks who'd been working casually before looked frantic, moving back and forth with haste. The only one who didn't seem distressed was the head chef, Tsugumi. Sayo watched as she chopped up some meat like nothing was happening around her.

Tsugumi must've felt Sayo's gaze on her, because her eyes snapped up. Sayo had almost been standing in the doorway for a minute before she was noticed. "Oh, Sayo! Good to see you!" Tsugumi called over to her. "We're a little busy today, but come on in." So she acknowledged the strain, but was still calm? Sayo respected that, the ability to maintain a cool head under pressure.

"I've actually been sent to help." Sayo said as she walked further into the room. "What can I do?"

Tsugumi's eyes lit up, smile expanding. "You're just what we needed." Even as she spoke she was still chopping the meat. "Can you run to the market and buy five kilograms of asparagus?"

"Yes, I'll take care of it." Sayo replied seriously. She'd been to the market only a couple days before and knew exactly where to go.

Now Tsugumi stopped and put the knife down, moving to a cabinet to grab something. It turned out to be a sack of money. "I don't know what the asking price is today, but this should be enough." She moved over to Sayo and pressed handful of coins into her palm. "Thanks!"

"You're welcome." Sayo tucked the coins into her pocket, unable to resist returning a small smile. "I'll be back soon." She turned back to the door, pulling it open and leaving behind the warmth of the kitchen.

Sayo exited the castle and headed towards the same section of vendors that she'd asked for information from a couple days prior. She hoped to quickly locate the desired food and to return with it. Being efficient was part of her job, she told herself, even as the thought of being rewarded with a smile flashed through her mind.

The search was a short one, since one of the stands near the front was a vegetable stand. Sayo approached with an uninterested gaze, familiar with the games merchants played. She looked at multiple different kinds of vegetables before settling on the asparagus, which were bundled in single kilogram bunches.

Sayo asked for the price casually, and when the merchant told her she bought five bunches. The merchant wrapped them in some paper and sent Sayo on her way.

She was no haggler, but that could've gone worse, Sayo thought as she walked back to the castle. She re-entered and went back to the kitchen.

When Sayo entered, Tsugumi beamed up at her. "Thank you so much!" She accepted the asparagus and spare change from Sayo, examining the food. "These look great!" Even in the relatively low lighting of the kitchen, her eyes glimmered with warmth.

"What else can I help with?" Sayo felt compelled to ask, even though she probably could justify being done for the day.

Tsugumi lifted one hand to her chin. "How are you at cooking?" She asked.

It was embarrassing for Sayo to admit it but… "Terrible." Sayo responded with a shake of her head.

"That's okay!" Tsugumi seemed unbothered, gesturing for Sayo to follow her. "I have something you can do."

Sayo trailed after her to an open countertop, not too close to any of the other staff. Tsugumi set out a knife and cutting board. A sack of potatoes and a bucket of water already sat nearby.

"Can you wash and then dice these potatoes?" Tsugumi pulled the sack over to the bucket as she asked.

"I guess, but," Sayo hesitated, this might've been a stupid question. "What do you mean by dice?"

"Cut them into small cubes, about two centimeters each way." Tsugumi held up her forefinger and thumb with a small gap between them. "Go ahead and wash one, and I'll show you."

Sayo nodded and grabbed a potato out of the bag. She moved to the bucket and dunked the potato in the water, scrubbing it with a brush hanging on the side of the bucket. After a good scrub it looked better, so Sayo removed it and put it on the cutting board.

Tsugumi picked up the knife and cut it in half. "I'll do the first half, and then you'll do the second." She said, slowly demonstrating first cutting the potato in half long ways, and then cutting it into smaller and smaller pieces. She made it look easy, but Sayo knew it wasn't quite that simple.

"You're incredible." Slipped out of Sayo's mouth as Tsugumi handed her the knife. The shorter woman almost dropped it at the comment, cheeks reddening.

"Thank you, but this is nothing special." Tsugumi cleared her throat. "Now let's see you try it."

Sayo adjusted her grip on the knife, holding it tightly as she sliced through her half of the potato. She imitated Tsugumi's movements, but her cuts didn't come out nearly as smooth.

"Try relaxing your grip." Tsugumi said, moving to Sayo's right side to place one warm hand over hers. "and pull back as you cut, there you go!" Tsugumi guided Sayo through the motions, and it actually looked decent. She released her hand almost immediately, and Sayo wondered if the room had felt this cold before. "I'll leave you to it then." Tsugumi said after clearing her throat once more.

Sayo thanked her for her assistance before she walked away, and then set about the task of washing and dicing the potatoes.

She did this very clumsily for another hour before being dismissed, sent off by Tsugumi to enjoy the rest of her day.

She only diced 5 potatoes, but Tsugumi still said she was a big help.


	7. Chapter 7

Author Note: I've got good news to report. I hit 50,000 words today for this fic. The portion that I wrote for NaNo is complete and I still have about 10k left to do. My goal is to have the entire project completed by December 7th. Thank you everyone who has read this fic so far and those who will read it moving forward.

* * *

Sayo returned the next morning wearing her entire suit of leather armor. She brought both her bow and sword as well, prepared to fight if things got messy.

Her first stop, as was becoming routine, was Ran's office. She knew she'd be positioned as a guard for the party, but wasn't sure where they wanted her. When Sayo arrived, Ran was the only person in her office.

Ran provided the requested information. "You'll be standing guard in the courtyard today. Pick a doorway and stand near it. If you're not sure, ask Kasumi where to go. The event is starting in a couple hours, so you should head to your post." She dismissed Sayo, sending her off to the courtyard.

Sayo walked to the now familiar space, which was even more bustling than it had been the day before. Various people moved around the open area, setting up tables and decorations.

Before looking for a place to stand guard, Sayo went over to the flower bed she dug up the day before. In place of the sparse flowers that lived there before, it was now full of bright and varied chrysanthemums. The most prominent color was a dark red, one that matched the banners adorning the castle walls. Even though she was grumpy that gardener did a good job, Sayo thought as she admired the flowers.

With that done, she looked around for a good place to stand guard. There were multiple entrances to the courtyard, some already with guards near them. There wasn't anyone by the east entrance, so Sayo decided to take up that post. It was a decent place to keep watch from, since she could see most of the courtyard from there.

Thus started the guarding process. It mostly consisted of watching and waiting for something to happen, with the high chance of nothing occurring. Sayo didn't mind the job, it was certainly better than digging ditches had been the day before. For this task she stood in her one spot, watching people as they prepared for the event.

One person passed through the door Sayo guarded multiple times, a young woman she'd met previously named Saya. It made sense that she'd come through this particular door, since the kitchen was located in that direction. She said hello to Sayo on her first trip through, but was thankfully too busy to make small talk.

After about an hour another group that Sayo knew crossed the courtyard. Yukina and Lisa were dressed differently than before, wearing formal clothes instead of armor. They still wore pants instead of skirts. Ako was with them, along with a woman with long black hair that Sayo hadn't met before. They seemed to be merely crossing through, but stopped when Lisa spotted Sayo.

"Hey Sayo!" Lisa waved as she approached, bringing the others with her. "How is your wound healing?" She leaned in to examine the bandages.

"It's healing well, thank you for asking." Sayo politely offered a half smile.

"That's great!" Lisa returned it with a full grin. "Yukina's is healing too, though she's been a bit stubborn about letting me treat it."

"It's fine." Yukina muttered under her breath, drawing Lisa's exasperated gaze. Lisa merely shook her head before returning to Sayo.

"This is Ako." She gestured to the shorter one who Sayo had seen at the stables. "She's serving as Yukina's squire." The teen made a strange hand sign over her face, which Sayo ignored. "And this is Rinko, she's a healer who works in the castle." Lisa gestured to the black haired woman, who shrunk back when Sayo looked at her.

"N-nice… to meet you." Rinko said in a quiet voice, drawing her hands together in front of her body and looking down at them.

Sayo's half smile softened into a more genuine one; she wasn't quite sure why. "Likewise." She said, still looking at Rinko even though the other girl wouldn't maintain eye contact.

"I see you're armed today." Yukina cut in with one raised eyebrow.

Sayo nodded, turning to the golden eyed knight. "I've been hired to guard during the event today." She noticed that none of the people in front of her were armed, so they must've been planning to attend.

"Kasumi was complaining about changing the shifts for this." Lisa mused in reply, one hand on her chin. "So I suppose it makes sense they'd hire someone." She looked to Yukina, probably for affirmation, and received a small nod. "Did they tell you what the party's for?" Lisa's voice rose as she leaned towards Sayo.

"No, they didn't." Sayo said with a frown. She wanted to add, does it really matter, but refrained.

Lisa leaned even closer. "Well, I heard that the king wants Princess Himari to find a husband and get married, but she keeps ignoring her suitors. He keeps having events like these to give her more chances." Sayo felt a twinge of annoyance at the gossip, but continued listening anyway. "They're saying she has to choose a husband today, at this party." Wherever Sayo went there was gossip; this place was no different.

"Those are just rumors, and unflattering ones at that." Yukina looked as annoyed as Sayo felt.

Lisa stood up straight and had the dignity to look embarrassed. "Yes, they are only rumors." She chuckled lightly.

"We shouldn't… gossip too much." Rinko added quietly, siding clearly with Yukina.

"You're right, you're right. Forget you heard anything." Lisa said to Sayo, which would be an almost impossible request to grant. "We should get going. Good luck with guarding today!"

The four each said their farewells, Ako's including a grand flourish, before continuing their journey through the courtyard. Sayo watched them go, turning over the rumors they shared in her mind. She wasn't quite sure if she'd ever seen the princess, but today would be a good day to do so.

Sayo remained at her post as the event drew nearer, watching as a few other people she had met trickled by. Moca was one of them, hauling a huge rolled up scroll of some kind. Arisa passed through as well, working on the final gardening touches. Saya walked by Sayo multiple times, running to and from the kitchen.

Surprisingly, Sayo didn't see Tsugumi. She wondered if the other woman was going to be attending the party or if she would be tied to the kitchen, but didn't let the question bother her.

Another hour passed in this manner, until Ran appeared in the courtyard. She walked towards Sayo, checking the other guards as she came.

"You picked a good spot." Ran commented, looking around at the courtyard. "It's starting in half an hour. Make sure to keep an eye out for anything suspicious."

Sayo gave an affirmative and Ran walked away. It was nice; she just gave the instructions and then left. No small talk, no time wasted.

After Ran was gone, guests started to trickle in. They came from the north entrance, since that was the direction that the main gate was in. Most were men and woman that Sayo didn't know. They wore extravagant dresses and bright colors, showing off status and wealth.

At first glance, none of the attendees seemed to be carrying a weapon. That was until the group of knights returned. They had added some color to their outfits, but Yukina had also gained a dagger. Sayo wasn't that worried about Yukina causing trouble in her own kingdom, so she didn't say anything. She still kept an eye on the knight, just as a precaution.

Soon the party officially started, with the entrance of a pink haired woman signaling the beginning. Saya ran past Sayo multiple times, bringing food out of the kitchen to serve the guests. They ate, mingled, and talked. Sayo watched, unable to make out their conversations through the noise. She saw Moca and Ran, together in the crowd. Ako trailed after Yukina while Lisa flitted from person to person.

"Enjoying the party?" A voice came from Sayo's side, from the door she was guarding. It was a gentle voice and a familiar one.

"I suppose so." Sayo relaxed her shoulders slightly as she turned towards Tsugumi. "Nothing bad has happened."

"Not on the surface." Tsugumi looked out over the crowd as she spoke, eyes missing their light from the day before. "Who knows what words have been said."

Sayo frowned at this. "I'm not sure." She admitted with a shrug. "I only know a few people."

"Well, the woman with the bright pink hair and stunning red dress is Princess Himari." Tsugumi stepped closer to Sayo and pointed towards the person in question. "And the red haired person next to her is Tomoe, her personal knight." These two people were the ones Sayo saw sparring in the courtyard the previous day. That explained how they gained permission to do so. A third woman stood with them, one with long purple hair in a high ponytail. She wore a strange mask and was leaning down towards the Princess, whose face had turned an interesting shade of pink.

"Who is the third person?" Sayo asked, wondering if the mask should be cause for alarm.

"I'm not sure." Tsugumi narrowed her eyes as if to squint and see them better. "Probably one of her suitors." So the rumors about suitors were true. There was a group of young men standing nearby the princess as well, though Tomoe seemed to be giving them a hard glare.

"Honestly, I feel a little out of place here." Even the nicest clothes Sayo had wouldn't be good enough for this occasion. "Even though I'm just guarding."

Tsugumi finally looked away from the crowd and directly at Sayo. "I feel the same way." She said quietly, running her hands over her clothes. "But it's nice to see people eating my food. I love when others enjoy my cooking." She recovered a smile at the last part, one that reached her eyes.

Sayo wasn't sure what to say, not having ever quite reached that feeling of satisfaction with her work. "That's nice." Was all she managed, two words with almost no meaning to them.

Tsugumi broke eye contact, turning back towards the event. "It was good to see you Sayo, hopefully I'll see you around."

"Goodbye." Sayo bid her farewell as she walked away, looking back once to give a small wave. Tsugumi stopped next to Tomoe, who looked happy to see her.

The rest of the event went quickly, with Sayo continuing to stand guard. She knew it was over when guests started to leave, bidding farewell to the princess before heading to the exit.

Once most of the guests were gone, Ran stopped by to speak with Sayo. Moca followed closely behind her with flushed cheeks and an unsteady gait.

"Here." Ran handed Sayo the sack of coins for the two days of work.

"Wowwwww Ran." Moca slurred, leaning on Ran heavily. "You should really… really pay Moca that well."

"Shut up." Ran grumbled, but didn't shove her off. She turned her attention back to Sayo. "You're all set for today, will you be back tomorrow?"

It was a question Sayo had asked herself many times that week, but hadn't been asked by any others.

"I'll be back." She replied with a firm nod, setting the decision in stone.


	8. Chapter 8

Author Note: Good news, I finished the fic today. The whole thing has been written.

* * *

The morning after the event Sayo rose at her usual time. She emerged from the inn and walked through the streets, one of the only people out at this time of day.

The town had a peaceful air to it, one that allowed Sayo to think as she walked. Maybe today should be the last day that she worked here. After all, it had already been a full week since she arrived. It was almost time to move on.

She would be sure to tell Ran she was leaving, since the woman had hired her consistently. If she saw either of the knights that she'd traveled with she'd consider telling them too, but didn't plan to seek them out. She probably should say goodbye to Tsugumi, since they'd spoken a few times, but wasn't sure if she wanted to. It wasn't like she planned to ever return to this city.

With that thought in mind Sayo passed by the guard who she met on the first day, the one with long hair whose name she still did not know, and entered the castle. She walked through the empty corridors to Ran's office, where she knocked.

When Sayo entered the room, she saw that it was set up differently than usual. Ran's desk was still present, with the aforementioned woman sitting behind it, but an additional chair had been added on the side towards the door. Sayo shut the door behind her.

"Please have a seat." Ran glanced up from something she was writing, gesturing with her free hand towards the chair.

Sayo walked towards it and sat down, folding her fingers together in her lap. She watched as Ran finished writing the last line of something and drew a line at the end.

When Ran looked up and saw Sayo watching, she chuckled. "You have good timing." Ran said as she put down the quill. "How has your time in Circle been so far?" Red eyes locked onto Sayo's, placing more weight on this question than it might've normally carried.

"It's been good." Sayo answered neutrally with a lean towards blunt. "The work has been decent, and the people tolerable."

Ran cracked the bare hint of a smile, seeming to appreciate that response. "Well, we've been happy with your work." She turned the paper on the table so that it was facing Sayo. "So much so that we want to hire you to work here full time."

What? Sayo thought, looking down at the piece of paper. At the top it read 'contract' and seemed to contain terms of employment. They wanted to hire her full time?

"You will work part time as a guard and part time for me." Ran continued speaking, ignoring the lack of a response from Sayo. "Room and board will be provided, along with a biweekly stipend."

"Room and board?" Sayo repeated, asking for clarification.

"You will be granted a room in the guards' quarters and will be permitted to eat all meals in the castle dining hall." Ran explained, putting one hand on the paper. "This contract is for one month, after which you can renew or leave." When Sayo didn't say anything, Ran pulled her hand back. "Take a few minutes to think about it." She said, relaxing her posture back in her chair.

Sayo was glad to have a few minutes, since her mind had been whirling ever since the paper was turned her way. This was exactly the opposite of what she planned to do that morning. Nobody except her own parents had ever asked her to stay before; she always just moved on. If she stayed then she wouldn't be a traveler anymore, wouldn't be a mercenary. She's merely be a guard in a small town.

That could be okay though, since the small town wasn't the one she was from. Hina lived far enough away from here that it was impossible for her to show up and nobody here could have heard of her. Sayo had initially left home looking for a fresh start, maybe this was fate.

The people weren't too bad here either. She found Kasumi annoying, but had made some acquaintances that she didn't hate. Lisa and Yukina were both competent combatants who she would gladly fight alongside again, and she'd even met a few new people at the event the day before.

Tsugumi's face flashed through her mind as well. If she took this job, she'd get to eat food made by the castle kitchen. She'd more chances to speak with the young woman who'd captured so much of her attention, who she hadn't quite felt comfortable telling that she was leaving.

What were the pros of leaving? She would continue to see new places and meet new people, but she didn't really like meeting new people. The chance of a Hina encounter was slimmer than if she stayed here, but not by much. The next town might be bigger and better than this one, with higher pay and a stronger economy, but she wouldn't stay there either.

Sayo picked up the piece of paper, reading over the contents quickly. It listed the same things Ran had said, including the half days guarding and half days completing 'various tasks'. The stipend was a good amount, especially considering the free rent and food. When comparing the pros and cons, the pros seemed to be winning.

The deciding factor, what pushed her over the edge, was the fact that it was only for a month. If things went terribly, she'd be able to leave after just four short weeks.

"I'll do it." Sayo said, reaching for the quill in order to sign the document. She included her last name to make it an official signature.

"That's great." Ran took the paper back and looked over the signature as Sayo returned the quill to the table. "Welcome to the castle." She said with probably as close to a smile as Ran got. "Tomorrow morning bring your belongings and report to the front gate. Kasumi will meet you there. You are dismissed for today."

This day wasn't going quite as planned, Sayo thought as she rose to her feet, but for once that was okay. She bit Ran farewell and headed out of the office. As she was walking towards the entrance of the castle, she saw a familiar face.

"Congrats on your new job." Moca drawled from where she lounged in the grass, surprising Sayo who hadn't expected her to speak. She was already in the courtyard when Sayo passed by, near the corner by the office. For someone who had been wasted the day before, she looked to be doing pretty well this morning.

"Thanks." Sayo replied simply before continuing on her way, not bothering to engage the woman in a full conversation.

She left the castle and emerged back into the town, which was starting to gain its bustle.

Since her job didn't start until tomorrow, she needed some new plans for today. She should find a place to practice archer, maybe somewhere outside of town.

With that vague plan for the day, Sayo went about her business. She wondered if she made the right choice in deciding to stay.

She hoped that she did.

* * *

Omake:

Moca sidled through the castle. Even though she had somewhere to be and a job to do, she always took her time. She heard from Rimi that the blue haired archer had left for the day, and thus she had to get moving.

That didn't stop her from taking ten whole minutes to get to the kitchen. She entered with a casual gait, somehow still drawing the attention of every person there.

"Hey Moca." Tsugumi greeted her warmly as usual, with the others returning to their jobs.

"How's it going?" Moca walked over to where Tsugu was cutting up some meat. "Did the archer lady stop by here?"

"You mean Sayo?" Tsugumi stopped cutting to look at Moca. "Yeah, she brought me these rabbits." She looked pleased.

"What did you think of her?" Moca asked, leaning in. This was the real reason she'd come.

Tsugumi didn't hesitate. "She's a great archer and a nice person!"

Interesting, Moca thought, she hadn't gotten the impression that Sayo was that nice. "Do you think she'll be back?" She asked.

"I'm sure she will." Tsugumi said with a firm nod.

"Well, Moca bets she won't be~" Moca smirked, entertained when Tsugumi's brow furrowed.

"You'll see, Moca." Tsugumi looked pensive as she resumed cutting the meat. "Sometimes people surprise you."

Moca wasn't sure what that meant, but she didn't take it personally.

* * *

End Note: End Arc 1


	9. Chapter 9

Author Note: Thanks everyone who has read or reviewed so far! Onward to arc 2!

* * *

When Sayo ate her last breakfast at the inn she told the innkeeper that she wouldn't be back. The woman didn't seem troubled either way and bid Sayo safe travels. After making sure she had all of her belongings, Sayo left the inn behind and walked to the castle.

She didn't feel any different than before, even though she was headed there to stay. The sleepy town and high walls of the castle seemed the same as before. Sayo was once again carrying her bag with everything in it, which slowed her walking pace slightly.

Rimi stood guard at the gate with Kasumi by her side. The energetic woman bounced on the balls of her feet, looking around for something in the early morning light. When she saw Sayo approaching she gave a huge wave.

"Good morning." Sayo greeted the pair as she stopped in front of them. Rimi shrunk under her gaze.

"I'm so glad you're going to work here!" Kasumi was still bouncing. "Follow me, I'll show you where your quarters are." She bid farewell to Rimi and scurried into the castle. Sayo followed behind at a more standard pace, keeping the other woman in sight.

Kasumi took a turn down a corridor Sayo hadn't been to yet, one that led to a flight of stairs. Kasumi took them two at a time as she ascended, with Sayo a meter behind her going one by one. The stairs were relatively even and led straight up one flight. Once on the next level, another set of stairs could be taken to the third floor. Kasumi turned away from those steps however, and led Sayo further into the building.

They passed by many doors before stopping in front of a nondescript door, with Kasumi unlocking it and then handing Sayo the key. "This will be your room." She said as she pulled the door open and led the way inside. The room was small, with a bed, table, closet, and chair. Not too bad, Sayo thought as she looked around, especially considering that it was free.

Sayo put her bag on the chair; she'd unpack it later.

"All of the guards live in this section of the castle." Kasumi rambled as they left the room, Sayo locking the door behind her.

The pair continued down the hall, making one more turn and arriving at a larger door. This one wasn't locked.

The room was significantly larger than the one they'd been in before, and was furnished with a large table. A number of papers were pinned up on the walls as well as spread out on the table. There was already one person present, the long haired guard whose name Sayo had forgotten. She stood in front of the table and was looking down at the papers.

"This is the guard headquarters." Kasumi gestured around the room. "We keep the schedule here and use it to meet in times of crisis. You'll come on Sunday's to see the schedule for the week."

"Kasumi, which one is this week's schedule?" The long haired woman asked. She had picked up a couple sheets of paper.

"Let me see." Kasumi walked over, joining her in looking at the papers. "This one." She said, grabbing one of the sheets still on the table.

"Thanks captain." The woman gave a mock salute.

"You're welcome Otae!" Kasumi returned it with vigor. So Otae was the other woman's name; Sayo made a mental note so she wouldn't forget it again. Wait, did she say captain?

"Are you captain of the guard?" Sayo asked Kasumi, trying to keep the incredulous tone out of her voice.

"I am indeed." Kasumi turned back towards Sayo, pointing one thumb at her chest. "So if there's ever trouble, you just let me know!" She nodded firmly with the statement.

It was kind of hard to believe that this scattered and energetic young woman was in charge of the castle's primary defense, but Sayo didn't have a choice but to roll with it. "Okay." She said.

"Your first shift will be this afternoon, starting at 1:00." Kasumi said after looking down at the schedule. Otae moved out of the way so Sayo could approach and see it too. It was written in neater handwriting than she expected someone like Kasumi to have. "You'll be posted as an archer in the northwest tower. I'll show you how to get there next." Kasumi put the schedule back down in the middle of the pile. "Later Otae!" She bid the other woman farewell and headed towards the door. Sayo looked at papers for a good long moment, but held her in her disdain for this organization system.

She followed Kasumi out of the room and back to the stairs. This time they continued going up towards the third floor. Once on the next level, they passed through a few more hallways and reached a spiral staircase.

"These are the tower stairs." Kasumi explained as they ascended. About half way up they reached a landing with doors out onto the walls. They passed the landing and went all the way to the top. The stairs let out onto a small square area with chest high walls around it. Most of the city could be seen from this height. There was a guard on the wall below, but not one in the other towers.

"This corner will be your spot." Kasumi spun around the space, ending with a flourish and pointing at the ground. "You'll serve a four hour shift every day, either in the morning or the afternoon. You're supposed to do something else for the other four hours." Kasumi's brow wrinkled as she tried to remember, one hand rising to her chin. "But I can't remember what. After you unpack you should ask Ran."

Sayo resisted a sigh. "I will." She responded before following Kasumi back down the stairs. They split up on the second floor, with Kasumi continuing down and Sayo heading to her room.

She was able to locate it and unlock it on the first try. The room looked just how she left it, with her bag still on the chair. Sayo took the next few minutes to unpack the few belongings she had. She hung up her spare clothes in the closet and put her other things on the table. She stowed the bag in the closet and was thus all unpacked.

It was strange, not having her things stored in a bag, but she'd get used to it.

Sayo's next stop was to head downstairs and check in with Ran. Unlike Kasumi, the other woman would probably remember the rest of her instructions.

Once Sayo made it downstairs, it only took her a moment to readjust to this location and find Ran's office. She was learning her way around pretty well; in one more week she'd have the whole castle mastered.

Luckily, Ran was in her office and granted Sayo admittance. "Good morning." Ran barely glanced up from her work to see who it was. "Did Kasumi fill you in on your responsibilities?"

"Some of them." Sayo admitted, glancing at the forms Ran was filling out. "But she wasn't sure what I'd be doing besides standing guard."

"That girl…" Ran muttered under her breath, looking up from her papers. "She'd lose her own head if it wasn't attached." She shook her head. "You'll spend a couple hours a day helping out the kitchen. Not with cooking." It was as if Ran heard the protest before it rose to Sayo's lips. "But with running errands such as buying supplies and fetching water."

Well, as long as she didn't have to cook it sounded manageable. She had been embarrassingly slow at chopping the potatoes a few days before and wasn't looking to replicate the experience.

"Alright, I'll make sure to report there when I'm not on guard duty." Sayo nodded as she spoke.

"Good, you'll start that tomorrow since it's almost afternoon." Ran returned to her paperwork, likely considering the conversation finished.

That was fine with Sayo. She bid the woman farewell and exited the room, wondering what she should do next. She'd spent quite a bit of time in the castle this morning; perhaps it was time to have one of those meals that were included in her pay.

Unfortunately, she had no idea where to do that. There had to be a dining hall somewhere, but Sayo had yet to visit it. She walked from the offices towards the courtyard, intending to head towards the kitchen. In theory the dining room would be close to the kitchen, or so she figured.

Luckily for Sayo she passed a familiar face in the courtyard. One of the women Sayo met at the party, oh what was her name again, Rinko, that was it. She was dressed in a blouse and skirt and was walking across the grass when Sayo reached the courtyard. She lived here, so she certainly knew where the dining hall was.

"Excuse me." Sayo called over to Rinko, who blinked in surprise at her as Sayo closed the distance between them. They ended up standing near the middle of the courtyard.

After a long pause, Rinko spoke. "H-hello…" She said quietly, avoiding eye contact.

"I'm sorry to bother you." Sayo led with, hoping to not take too much of Rinko's time. "But can you please point me in the direction of the dining hall?"

Rinko blinked again. "It's… this way." She said with a pause in the middle, which struck Sayo as an odd way to speak. Then she started to walk as if she wanted Sayo to follow, heading to the east side of the courtyard. Sayo trailed behind her.

They walked for only a few minutes, leaving the courtyard through the exit Sayo had guarded only two days before and making one turn. Rinko led Sayo into an open hall, one full of many tables and chairs. About 30 people sat in the room, eating and talking. This seemed to be the dining hall; Sayo had gotten quite close on her own.

On one side of the room there was a long table with someone serving food, so Sayo thanked Rinko for her assistance and headed in that direction. She stood in a brief line before receiving a bowl of a delicious smelling stew.

Sayo looked around for a moment and spotted an open table, where she promptly sat and started eating. The stew tasted as good as it smelled, warming her from the inside out. She had taken a few bites when someone sat down across from her.

Even though Sayo hadn't spared a thought for Rinko since she thanked her, Rinko still took a spot across from Sayo. She had a similar bowl of stew and started eating once she was fully seated. Sayo wasn't sure why she sat there, but she wasn't about to tell her to go away either.

The pair ate in silence, not too awkward but not completely comfortable either.

That was, until a few more people showed up. "Rinko, Sayo!" Lisa plopped down next to Sayo, disturbing the peace and quiet. "Good to see you, are you living here now?"

"I am." Sayo informed her, only pausing her eating for a moment. Yukina appeared on the other side of the table, sitting across from Lisa, with her squire taking the seat on Rinko's other side.

"Welcome." Yukina said with a half smile. "What will you be doing?" She asked, taking a bite of her stew.

"They hired me as a tower guard." Sayo's spoon sadly hit the bottom of her bowl, most of the food being gone.

Lisa tilted her head thoughtfully, "Well, we are short on archers." She shrugged. "Rinko, how did the batch of herbs from this morning turn out?" Lisa changed the subject away from Sayo, which was ideal for her.

While the conversation moved on, Sayo finished the last of her stew.

She bid her acquaintances farewell and went to take her bowl back to the table. There was spot for used dishes, so she left her bowl in the pile.

It was almost time for her first guard duty, so Sayo made her way back up to the tower. She only made one wrong turn trying to find the stairs, and soon reached her destination.

She waved at the guard out on the wall to let them know she had arrived, but they must've taken that as a signal to leave since within a few minutes they were gone.

Sayo looked out at the city, at the streets she'd walked that morning to come to the castle.

It looked smaller from this high up. She could see the inn from here, the one she'd stayed at the whole first week.

How quickly things had changed.


	10. Chapter 10

Author Note: I wrote this on the plane ride to Chara.

* * *

The next morning Sayo had guard duty once again. She was able to find the right schedule in the guard headquarters since there was only one sheet with her name on it. Unfortunately, that would only last for the first week. It had Sayo marked for the 8:00-12:00 shift, so she made sure to show up in the tower right on time. Surprisingly, there wasn't a guard there to relieve from the previous shift.

Sayo took her post in the early morning sun, looking out over the city as it woke up for the day. On the top of the walls, things were quiet. Just like the day before, there was no trouble.

The shift soon passed, sending Sayo off to her second lunch in the castle. Today's meal was a chicken dish of some kind; Sayo wasn't quite sure what it was called. She sat at a different empty table than before, but still ended up with the same group of people. They surprised her when they sat down, but it wasn't terrible to eat with other people. She mostly listened to their conversations, specifically to Lisa and Ako who talked the most in the group.

After eating, it was time for Sayo to head to the kitchen. She already knew how to find it since she'd been there a couple times before, which was good. She hoped nobody there would remember how bad her potato cuts were for the party.

When Sayo entered the kitchen the same five people were present as before, including Tsugumi and Saya. Tsugumi looked up when Sayo walked into the room, brown eyes widening.

"Oh, hi Sayo." Tsugumi hesitated in the middle of a chopping motion, but quickly resumed moving. "So this is what Ran meant by a surprise." She murmured under her breath.

"What was that?" Sayo couldn't quite hear her and asked for clarification.

Tsugumi smiled sheepishly and shook her head. "It's nothing." She waved her free hand in a dismissive manner.

"Alright." Sayo wasn't going to push for a better answer. "I'm here to help out. I've been assigned to the kitchen for a couple hours each day."

"That's great, we could use the help." A smile graced Tsugumi's face, and Sayo was struck once again with how disarming this woman managed to be without even trying. "Could you get a few sacks of wheat from the storehouse? It's near the stables."

Sayo nodded, already plotting the directions to the stable in her mind. "I'll take care of it." She said before turning and exiting the kitchen.

The stables were on the other side of the dining hall, in the southeast corner of the castle. It only took Sayo a few minutes to arrive there, and once she did she had to locate the storehouse. She tried a few doors in the hallway that connected the stables to the rest of the castle.

On the third door she found some of the stored food. It consisted primarily of dried crops, with a large portion being wheat. The sacks were about 50 kg each, so Sayo could carry them one at a time.

She grabbed one and got to work, hauling them one by one to the kitchen. Tsugumi told her where to stack them, so she made a pile.

After five trips, Sayo was sent to get water from the well. It was on the west side of the building, pretty close to where Ran's office was. The kitchen had their own special bucket for fetching water, which Sayo carried with her back and forth to the well. All of that archery training gave her strong arms, though it didn't stop her from feeling fatigued from the work.

After fetching enough water for what the kitchen needed, Tsugumi didn't have any other tasks for her.

"Thanks for your help." She said after Sayo brought the last bucket of water. "You're all set for today."

It had only been a couple hours, so Sayo still had time remaining before dinner would be served. It had been a few days since she trained; maybe that would be the best way to use her time. She remembered seeing people sparring in the courtyard before, but they turned out to be the princess and her personal knight so it probably wouldn't be a good place to train. Before she left, maybe she should ask Tsugumi?

"Do you know of a place to train within the castle?" Sayo asked the head chef, standing nearby as she cooked something in a pan.

"Umm, I don't." Tsugumi shook her head, turning to her other staff. "Saya?"

Saya was in the process of kneading some dough on a nearby counter. "I think there's a training field just outside stable gate. At least, Tae has mentioned it before." Tae, was that the same person as Otae? Sayo wasn't sure, but whether it was in or outside of the castle this training field sounded like it would work.

Sayo thanked the pair of chefs and went on her way. She walked back to the stables and exited the castle through the stable gate. She'd been in the castle for over 24 hours; it had been a long time since she'd stayed in one building for so long.

Once outside of the castle, Sayo looked around for the training field. She had ridden past here when they went to find the bandits, but she hadn't taken a good look around at that time.

Just to the east of the exit there was indeed a large open field that would be good for training. There was also an unexpected boon. Next to the training field was a small archery range, with a handful of targets set up and some wood booths for archers to stand in. Considering that by their own admission the castle didn't have many archers, it was an odd find.

Sayo walked over to it with a slight spring in her step, stopping at one of the stands. The target was a good distance away and over flat land; this would be a good place to practice shooting.

She drew her bow, notching an arrow and aiming down the range. Sayo inhaled, and then released. The arrow hit in the second ring on the target; not bad but not good either. She had gotten rusty.

Sayo continued to fire her arrows, retrieving them after every ten shots or so. She worked closer to the center of the target, regaining the muscle memory and skill that had been lost. Despite improving through practice, her shots were never perfect, never reaching mastery.

She tried not to let that bother her, but it always did.

When another person appeared in the stand next to her, Sayo didn't look over at first. She assumed it was someone else from the castle or a person who lived in town.

They weren't very good, she thought as she saw some of their shots miss the target completely. Others landed, but in the outer rings of the target.

It wasn't until Sayo had to go collect her arrows again, and thus had to ask the person to stop shooting for a minute while she collected her arrows, that saw who it was.

As it turned out, Lisa the knight was terrible at archery. When Sayo looked over and saw her, she almost choked on her spit. This Lisa was the same Lisa who led the charge against the bandits and was a menace with the short sword and shield. She also couldn't hit a target with a bow.

Sayo withheld her comments about Lisa's archery skills, instead just politely asking her to stop while she collected her arrows. Lisa agreed chipperly, seemingly unbothered by her own incompetence.

After Sayo collected her arrows they both resumed shooting. She spared a glance over at Lisa as she took aim, grimacing at the knight's posture.

She tried not to let it bother her.

Sayo failed at that. She ended up packing up and heading back to the castle.

* * *

As the next week passed Sayo fell into a routine. She located and read the schedule each morning. Then she'd either go to the tower for guard duty or head to the kitchen to run errands. After the first four hours of the day she'd go eat lunch with the same group of acquaintances, managing each day to refrain from mentioning Lisa's poor archery skills.

Once lunch was over, she'd swap to the opposite activity, which filled the remainder of her day. She always had extra time after working in the kitchen, so that was when she fit in some training.

On this particular day, one whole week after Sayo moved into the castle, she finished up her kitchen duties with a couple hours to spare. She had purchased some vegetables from the market that they needed for the next day, trying her best to get a good deal on the price.

Sayo was getting ready to leave when something Tsugumi was making caught her eye. Usually she was making some kind of meat or vegetable dish, but this seemed to be something else. It looked like a pastry of some kind. Sayo almost didn't ask, almost decided she didn't have time to care.

"What are you making?" Perhaps she cared a little.

"Sugar cookies." Tsugumi replied as she added additional ingredients to a bowl.

Sayo watched each move Tsugumi made. "It looks complicated." She commented, having never attempted to make cookies before.

"The recipe makes things easier." The mixture thickened as Tsugumi stirred it. It was intriguing to Sayo in a way she couldn't explain.

"How does that mix become cookies?" Sayo asked, unable to resist.

Tsugumi looked down at the bowl, nodding once at her mixture. She grabbed a tray and scraped the dough out onto it, making one large lump. "Once I flatten it, I'll cut it into shapes and bake it. Those are the last two steps." She picked up a rolling pin and started rolling it over the dough, pushing it down into a flattened form.

Sayo watched her work. "That's amazing." She said, wanting to suck the words back in as soon as they came out of her mouth.

Tsugumi's cheeks dusted pink as she deflected the complement. "They're just normal cookies." She finished rolling and started cutting the dough into standard round shapes. Once that was done, she separated the individual cookies and put the tray into the stone oven.

As Sayo listened, she realized that time had passed and she was still standing here in the kitchen. She had training to do, and as pleasant as watching Tsugumi bake was she needed to get going.

"Thanks for showing me, I'll see you tomorrow." Sayo ended the conversation as she prepared to leave.

"See you then!" Tsugumi returned the farewell with a smile.

As Sayo left, she hoped that the cookies would be served with dinner. She was sure they'd taste delicious.

Her destination was the training field outside of the castle. Sayo had spent the last week re-honing her archery skills, but her swordsmanship had suffered in the process.

The field was thankfully empty, so no one would see her awful forms. She drew her sword and started her drills, moving between strikes stiffly.

She'd been running the drills for about ten minutes when her practice was interrupted.

"Hey Sayo!" Once again, Lisa had appeared in the practice areas around the same time as Sayo. She'd shown up multiple times over the last week to practice archery near Sayo, though unlike Sayo she didn't seem to be making any progress. "Not doing archery today?" Lisa carried her bow and arrows.

"No, not today." Sayo paused in her forms to reply, before quickly resuming.

Lisa didn't seem to take the hint, approaching even as Sayo continued her drills. "Do you have a minute to talk?" She asked.

Sayo sighed. "I guess." She said, holstering her sword and turning towards the knight. "What do you need?"

"I was wondering, since you're such a great archer." Lisa spoke with a smile, likely meant to be disarming. "If you would be willing to help train me in archery."

The idea didn't sound too appealing at first thought. "Why?" Sayo asked, looking for more details and perhaps a reason to accept.

"You probably noticed, but my archery skills are not exactly the best." Lisa had the dignity to look embarrassed by this fact. "In order to be a better knight and help Yukina, I need to improve." Her expression softened when she mentioned Yukina.

Sayo wasn't that impressed. "Not to be blunt, but how will that benefit me?" She wasn't willing to devote her time to a futile effort, especially when she wasn't getting anything in return. Nobody here was paying her to train archers.

"Hmm." Lisa tilted her head thoughtfully, a catlike smile on her face. "I could train you in something in return." She suggested with one eyebrow raised. "Perhaps in the sword and shield? Yukina is strongest with the two handed sword, but I'm the best shield wielder in the castle."

This proposition Sayo was willing to listen to. Her own sword work left lots of things to be desired and she wasn't trained at all to use a shield. Just knowing how to carry and use a shield would increase her life expectancy dramatically. Even if Lisa never improved with the bow, Sayo learning how to use a shield and better her sword work would make it worth it.

"You've got yourself a deal." Sayo reached out for a handshake, which Lisa accepted.

"Great!" Lisa said as she shook Sayo's hand firmly. "Want to start today? We can work on those forms you've been practicing." Sayo stepped back, releasing Lisa's hand.

This partnership was already paying off. "Alright." Sayo redrew her sword, taking her starting position.

"Before you move, let's adjust your stance." Lisa closed the distance between them, pushing Sayo's sword hand up higher. "Keep this hand up, always." She then backed away and Sayo started the drill.

For the next hour Lisa guided Sayo through improving her drills, with Sayo making some progress in her stance.

When it became time for dinner they stopped for the night, agreeing to work on Lisa's archery the next day.


	11. Chapter 11

Author Note: I posted a one-shot yesterday that takes place in the same universe as this fic. It's YukiLisa, takes place before the events of this fic. If you're interested please check it out!

* * *

Sayo stood up on the wall on a cloudy morning, looking out over the city. There was one other guard on duty in the southwest tower. For some reason they hadn't brought a bow, even though a sword would be almost useless to a tower guard. At least they were attentive, walking around consistently and keeping an eye out for trouble.

For the most part Sayo paced back and forth along the wall, occasionally climbing up the northeast tower to get a broader look. There were no signs of trouble, same as it had been each day prior.

When her shift ended another guard arrived to relieve her. This one brought a bow and arrows, which was an improvement.

Sayo left the tower and took the stairs down to the first floor, heading to the dining hall for lunch. She'd thoroughly enjoyed her meals in the castle so far, which wasn't too surprising considering the quality of the kitchen staff.

When she arrived, her acquaintances were already present at one of the tables. Sayo received her food, today a delicious smelling meat stuffed pastry, and joined them. She didn't even stop to think before going over to them, didn't hesitate. It was strange for her, but not unwelcome.

"Any activity out there today?" Yukina asked as Sayo started eating.

"None." Sayo replied after her first bite, shaking her head. "It was quiet." In the time Sayo had been there so far, there actually hadn't been any trouble at all. Every shift was the same, running smoothly without problem.

"Good." Yukina nodded once.

That response piqued Sayo's curiosity. "Are you worried about an attack?" She asked, noting how Yukina's shoulders tensed at the question.

"No." Golden eyes were narrowed in a way that didn't lend credence to Yukina's single word response. Sayo was about to dispute her claim when Lisa interjected.

"It's always good to be prepared, whether we expect something or not." Lisa looked between the two of them as she spoke. "That's why we're training together, right?" Her gaze landed on Sayo for the last part, clearly trying to change the topic.

"What." Yukina deadpanned as she took the bait, putting down her fork.

Lisa only grinned. "We've been meeting up sometimes. I'm teaching Sayo how to fight with a shield, and she's helping improve my archery skills." Yukina's expression grew darker, golden eyes narrowing.

"That sounds like fun!" Ako chimed in excitedly. She almost popped out of her seat as she spoke.

"I think it will be a productive partnership." Sayo replied calmly, ignoring the stink eye still coming from Yukina's direction.

"I'll meet you at the archery range later." Lisa also seemed to be ignoring it.

Sayo nodded and the conversation lulled for a moment.

Ako soon picked it back up. "Hey, did you hear about the suitor who left today?" She asked the group eagerly.

"I did." For some reason Yukina still spoke bluntly. Sayo wondered what was bothering her today, but didn't have a chance to ask since Ako resumed talking almost immediately.

"He left in such a huff! Tomoe said she had to escort him out." Ako leaned forward over part of the table. "I heard he proposed and the princess turned him down."

"R-really?" Rinko asked, having been hanging on to every word.

Ako nodded eagerly. "Yeah, really!"

"I heard about it too, but it's just a rumor." Lisa said with a half-smile.

Sayo hadn't heard anything before this and didn't have anything to add to the conversation. She'd only seen the princess at a distance a couple times and had never spoken to the woman. As a newcomer to this kingdom and just a common guard, it wasn't any of Sayo's business.

She kept eating her food as the others talked, chiming in only occasionally. Soon she was done and heading off to the kitchen for her afternoon shift.

When Sayo arrived Tsugumi greeted her warmly. Tsugumi was making some kind of dough, but Sayo didn't have a chance to ask what it was before she was given a task.

"Can you go to the market today? We need some carp and a few kilograms of carrots." Tsugumi said as she handed a pouch of coins to Sayo.

"Carrots?" Sayo responded as she received the bag. "Why carrots?" She hated carrots, couldn't stand them.

Tugumi furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "We're adding them to a dish for tomorrow." Eww, Sayo thought, carrots in the food sounded terrible.

"How about I get the fish, and we just leave out the carrots?" Sayo couldn't help but ask. Somewhere deep in her soul she knew this was a stupid question, but if it got her out of buying and eating carrots then it would be worth it.

"You don't want to buy carrots?" Tugumi tilted her head, likely due to increased confusion.

Sayo felt a flash of embarrassment that the conversation had gone here, but she pressed on. "I can't stand carrots." She responded firmly.

A smile broke out on Tsugumi's face. "That's really cute." Those words brought a slight warmth to Sayo's cheeks that was soon stifled by what followed. "But we still need them. Please go buy some." Tsugumi's smile suddenly looked sharp; Sayo knew she wasn't getting out of this.

"Fine." With little choice left, she conceded. "I'll buy them."

"Thank you!" Tsugumi waved goodbye as Sayo left.

As she walked towards the castle gate, Sayo resisted the urge to grumble about her misfortune of having to buy and potentially eat carrots. As many things in her life were, it was Hina's fault that Sayo couldn't stand the orange vegetables. Unlike the other annoying things about her sister, this didn't usually bother her that much. Only when she faced the devilish roots did the additional feelings of resentment rise to the surface.

Sayo left the castle, walking to the market and first buying the fish. That was the easy part.

Next she had to find and purchase gross carrots. There was a vegetable stand on the far end of the market that she'd bought from before. They sold good produce, so Sayo walked there to see if they had carrots.

They did have some, long disgusting orange tubes that were bundled in about half a kilogram groups. Sayo didn't know which ones looked good, since they all looked bad to her. She bought six bunches without even bothering to haggle, before quickly going on her way.

The castle was only a quick walk away. Sayo would never run because of something simple like carrots, no, she walked, just quickly.

She arrived at the kitchen in a rush. "That was fast." Tsugumi greeted Sayo with slightly widened eyes as she dumped the carrots on the table. The fish followed, being set down gently.

"Here you go." Sayo gestured to the offensive vegetables, pulling the extra change out of her pocket to return it. Tsugumi accepted the coin pouch and put it away. She then turned to one of the other kitchen staff and passed them the carrots, thankfully moving them outside of Sayo's eyesight.

The fish went to Saya, who started cleaning and deboning them. Tsugumi had finished making the dough from earlier and was now rolling it almost completely flat. Sayo watched as she cut a 20 centimeter circle out of it and carefully lifted it up, placing it in a tin she had nearby. She then pressed it down into the tin, securing it inside the shape. Her eyes came up and met Sayo's and Sayo abruptly averted her gaze.

"There isn't anything else that needs to be brought today." Tsugumi said, not commenting on Sayo's blatant staring. "Would you like to help?" She must've noticed and thought Sayo was interested in baking, which couldn't be further from the truth.

"Oh, no thank you." Sayo felt her cheeks flush. "I'm not a good cook, I'd probably mess it up somehow." She remade eye contact as she spoke. In the distance she could hear Saya chuckling, confirming her opinion on her own cooking skills.

"Nonsense." Tsugumi smiled warmly, welcomingly. "You did a good job with the potatoes."

"That's kind of you to say." Sayo had done a terrible job with the potatoes; Tsugumi was just being polite.

"Seriously, I can teach you if you'd like?" Tsugumi offered, brown eyes glinting.

Sayo had to rebreak eye contact. "Thank you." She managed to say. Learning to cook could be nice, but she didn't want to inconvenience Tsugumi or get in the way of her job. Unlike with Lisa, Sayo had nothing to offer in exchange. "I'll think about it." Maybe she'd reconsider it someday, but for now it wasn't a good idea.

Tsugumi exhaled in a small sigh. "Alright Sayo, just let me know." She resumed working on her dough, balling it up just to flatten and cut a new piece out of it. She made ten tins in total, a surprisingly large amount considering the initial size of the dough.

When Tsugumi glanced Sayo's way once more, Sayo decided it was time to leave the kitchen for the day. Between the carrots and the embarrassing conversation, she should just move on for now.

Sayo bid the kitchen staff farewell and headed off to the archery range. She exited through the stable gate and walked the remaining distance, crossing the training field.

Lisa had already set up at one of the stalls and was shooting at targets. Just as before she had missed many of her shots.

"Good afternoon." Sayo called out a greeting as not to startle her. Lisa turned and waved as she approached. Sayo stopped in the stall next to Lisa without drawing her bow. "Are you ready?"

Lisa nodded. "I am." Her expression was set firmly, eyes determined. She looked similar to how she had before the battle with the bandits.

"Good." Sayo liked the expression on her. "Go ahead and shoot ten more times, aiming for the center of the target. I'll just watch for now."

"Okay!" Lisa lifted her bow and drew an arrow, notching it and taking aim. She fired one after another as Sayo watched.

This time, since Sayo was focused on watching her, it was soon clear where the problems were. The first was in her posture, also in the angle she held the arrow and that she didn't seem to be accounting for the wind or the amount force actually required to hit the target. Two out of the eight arrows landed on the outer rings of the target, with one lucky strike a few from the center. The rest missed, digging into the grass.

After Lisa fired the tenth arrow she stopped and looked to Sayo.

"Go get your arrows, and then we'll start with your posture." Sayo said, deciding to go with the basics first. Fixing her posture would be the most important step and was likely the biggest factor driving off her aim.

It only took a couple minutes for Lisa to gather and return with the arrows. She stowed them back in the quiver and waited for instruction.

"Raise you bow and pull back the string." Sayo said as she walked over to Lisa's stall. "No arrow." She added as Lisa reached back for one. Lisa looked confused, but didn't question it. She drew her bow and pulled the string back.

Sayo stopped next to her. "Having good posture is key for aiming." Sayo said, placing one hand on Lisa's right elbow. "This elbow needs to be higher." She lifted it to the correct angle, and when she released it Lisa held it there. "Remember that feeling, because it needs to be there every time."

Sayo adjusted Lisa's feet as well, into a less squared up stance. This wasn't a close combat fight, so the goal was not to take blows but to deliver them long distance.

With the stance settled, Sayo had Lisa draw her bow multiple times. Each time she had to adopt the correct posture, and they did it over and over until it was perfect.

"Now, grab an arrow and shoot." Sayo retreated back to the other stall as she spoke. She watched as Lisa notched an arrow, adopted her fixed stance, and fired.

It wasn't perfect, or even in the center, but it hit the target. Lisa fired again, and again it landed in the rings. The third one hit as well.

After three shots Lisa turned to Sayo with a huge grin on her face. "You're a great teacher!" She exclaimed, leaning over the stall wall and wrapping her arms around Sayo's shoulders to pull her in for a brief hug.

Again today Sayo felt warmth in her cheeks. Lisa's face was flushed too but probably from exertion. "Not particularly, you only needed a little push to improve." She cleared her throat and stepped back out of the embrace. "We'll work on determining required force next time."

"Sounds great!" Lisa chirped. She bid Sayo farewell and then went to gather her arrows.

Once Lisa had departed Sayo practiced on her own. She couldn't let her skills get rusty, especially with another person relying on her to teach them.


	12. Chapter 12

Author Note: If I was naming the chapters, which I'm not, the name of this one would be 'calm before the storm'.

* * *

One day, Sayo had just left the kitchen after a morning shift there. She had spent the early hours hauling water from the well so that the kitchen could use it. Tsugumi had dismissed her after that, sending her off to enjoy her free time before lunch. Most days Sayo would go train during this time, but not today.

Sayo was on her way to the guard headquarters. The disorganized paperwork in there was starting to drive her insane.

When she was about to climb the steps up to the second floor, Sayo heard a rattling noise in the distance. She wasn't sure what it was, only that it wasn't a normal sound heard in the castle.

Retreating from the steps, Sayo slowly moved in the direction of the noise. It sounded like it was south of her, perhaps near the offices?

Could it be an intruder? Yukina had seemed worried about one earlier in the week. Sayo placed one hand on her sword as she crept, ready for a threat.

She didn't see anyone as she passed by the offices, but she did hear the noise again. It was louder and closer than before. If kind of sounded like, possibly an animal? Sayo hadn't noticed a vermin problem in this castle, but maybe one was cropping up.

Still worried, she continued. There wasn't much past the offices, just dead end hallways. At least, that's what Sayo thought.

She had almost reached the end when she heard the noise again, very clearly this time. It sounded like a cat meowing. There weren't any cats in this castle; surely she would've seen it by now if there was.

Sayo turned the last corner, expecting to see a cat or even an intruder, but was greeted instead with a far more surprising sight.

Yukina was sitting on the ground with her back to the open part of the hall. Sayo couldn't see what she was doing, but she could see a cat's tail sticking out to Yukina's left side. She must've heard Sayo's footsteps, because her head turned as Sayo rounded the corner.

Their eyes met. The cat meowed loudly. It jumped out of Yukina's arms and then nuzzled against her leg. Sayo didn't know enough about cats to identify the breed, but it was colored in a mixture of dark and light brown fur. For a moment neither woman moved.

"Can I help you with something?" Yukina broke the silence, bringing one hand to stroke the cat.

Sayo released her sword hilt and crossed her arms. "Is this your cat?" She asked, hoping she didn't sound like she was accusing Yukina of something. As it was, Sayo wasn't sure what the rules on cats in the castle even were.

"He's a stray." Yukina looked down at the creature with gentler eyes than she'd ever turned towards Sayo. "Sometimes I see him around here. Moca feeds him."

If Moca was feeding him, then it was likely Ran knew about his presence already. That meant Sayo didn't have to worry about it, as it had at least some level of permission to be in the castle. "So, you're a cat person?" She asked, stepping closer and crouching down to reach slowly for the cat. The animal hissed at her outstretched hand, so she pulled it back.

"Cats are cute." Yukina replied briefly.

For some reason that annoyed Sayo. "Dogs are cuter." She retorted.

Yukina cracked a smile at that. "So you're a dog person." She let out one chuckle, turning her body more fully to look up at Sayo. "Don't tell anyone though, about the cat."

Maybe that meant Ran didn't know? Whatever, it wasn't a threat and Sayo didn't really care. "As long as nobody asks." Sayo replied. "But the minute someone wants to know about that strange meowing sound it's over."

"Fair enough." Yukina accepted the terms, continuing to pet the cat. "You've been training with Lisa, haven't you?" She looked back down at the cat and spoke more quietly than before, tone strained slightly.

"Yes." Sayo almost reached towards the cat again, but decided against it. She didn't need to get bit today.

"I see." Yukina kept her eyes down, locked onto the small animal's fur.

Sayo didn't have anything to say to that. Silence held for a moment, broken once again by the cat meowing loudly.

"I should get going." Sayo stepped back, giving up completely on petting the cat. Yukina watched her go in silence.

Sayo didn't hear the cat again as she walked away, returning to the stairs where she first heard the noise. She ascended to the second floor and walked to the guard headquarters, determined to complete the task she originally set out to do.

When Sayo entered the guard headquarters there were no other guards present. The table was still covered in papers, even more than when Sayo first arrived. She had come a few times to look at the schedule and found it increasingly difficult as her name was added to more pieces of paper.

Sayo approached the table, looking down at the papers. She picked them up one by one, stacking them into a single pile. Once they were straightened, she then put them in reverse chronological order with the most recent at the top.

It only took a few minutes.

Once she was done, Sayo put the pile back down in the center of the table. It looked so nice and clean, so easy to read and find information.

She left satisfied with her work and hoped that Kasumi would just put the next schedule on top of the stacked ones.

* * *

On another day, in the afternoon, Sayo was in the kitchen.

Even though she knew that Lisa would soon be expecting her at the training field, Sayo couldn't help but stop and watch Tsugumi bake. She had finished retrieving goods from storage and dismissed for the afternoon, but hadn't actually left. Tsugumi was mixing some ingredients in a bowl and Sayo wanted to see what it was going to be.

How foolish to think she'd continue getting away with just watching.

Tsugumi stopped stirring the bowl, releasing the spoon as she looked up at Sayo. She took a deep breath. "I know you said you're not good at baking." Tsugumi's expression looked serious; Sayo couldn't tear her eyes away. "But have you thought about letting me teach you?"

Even though last time Sayo decided to say no, it was so tempting to say yes. Tsugumi's sweets always looked so good and with a teacher Sayo would improve. That didn't change the fact, unfortunately, that she didn't have any skills to offer in return. She couldn't even over her money, since her stipend wasn't high enough to accommodate the additional expense.

"I thought about it." Sayo said slowly and clearly. "And I'd like to, but I don't have anything to offer you in return."

Surprisingly to Sayo, a smile grew on Tsugumi's face. "You don't have to give me anything." She said as she resumed mixing the bowl. "I wouldn't have accepted it anyway. Come on over and I'll show you what we're making." Tsugumi transitioned quickly into teaching mode, seeming to assume that with Sayo's protest solved she was all in.

Sayo bit back a retort as she walked over and peered down into the bowl. It was about half filled with a powdered substance. "What's it going to be?" Sayo asked.

"The sugar cookies were a big hit last time, so I'm making more." Tsugumi put down the bowl and moved to grab a small cup of white liquid. "We're adding the wet ingredients next. Here's the milk. Please pour it in while I get the eggs." Tsugumi handed Sayo the cup of milk and stepped away to another part of the kitchen.

Here was Sayo's first contribution. All she had to do was pour the milk into the bowl. That was it. She should stop thinking about it and just do it.

Doing her best to not think about how the milk might spill over onto the table, Sayo slowly tipped the cup into the bowl. The milk poured in slowly and was absorbed by the powder. By the time Sayo finished, Tsugumi had reappeared by her side.

"Good job Sayo!" Her praise sounded genuine, despite Sayo having completed a relatively simple task. "Next is the eggs. I'll do the first one, so watch closely." Tsugumi handed Sayo one egg, which she held gingerly, before tapping another one against the table. She brought it over the bowl and, with two hands, pulled the shell apart.

Sayo had always struggled with not getting the eggshells in whatever she was trying to make. To break it so easily looked like magic to her.

"Now you try." Tsugumi stepped aside to deposit her shells in a nearby bucket and allowed Sayo to stand in front of the bowl.

Sayo hesitated. "How exactly do I do this?" She grasped the egg firmly in one hand.

"Tap it gently against the side of the table." Tsugumi explained with the patience of a saint. Sayo tapped the egg gingerly. "A little harder than that." Brown eyes watched her every move carefully. Sayo could feel a bead of sweat on her neck.

She tapped the egg against the table side more firmly, almost dropping it when the shell cracked under the pressure. Her hand came up quickly, holding the egg over the bowl. "Now what?" Sayo asked, not as calmly as before.

"Turn the crack so it's face down and hold it with both hands, thumbs on the top. Then lift your index fingers up just enough to apply pressure and twist your wrists out." Tsugumi pantomimed the motion as she spoke, so Sayo was able to imitate it.

As Sayo turned her wrists, the egg did not break as cleanly as Tsugumi's had. In fact, it practically crumbled under her fingers with the yolk and egg whites leaking out into the bowl. "I am so sorry." Sayo said as she grimaced and tilted the whole mess to get the remaining liquid into the bowl. Once it was mostly gone, she turned and dumped the shell in the same bucket Tsugumi had put hers in.

"It's alright." Tsugumi seemed unbothered as she picked something out of the bowl. "Not bad for your first try." She picked up the spoon once more and handed it to Sayo. "Those were the last ingredients. I'll get a tray while you stir."

"Which way should I stir it?" Sayo asked as she accepted the spoon.

"Hmm." Tsugumi didn't have an immediate answer to that question, pausing to think for a moment. "Start clockwise, and if your hand gets tired switch to counter clockwise."

That didn't really make much sense to Sayo, but she accepted it. Sayo dunked the spoon into the mixture with a nod and started to mix it. The liquids and solids combined under the spoon, smoothing out the longer she stirred them.

Tsugumi stepped away for a moment, but quickly returned with a metal tray. She set it down next to the bowl.

"How long should I stir for?" Sayo asked, switching to counter clockwise rotations.

Her teacher peered into the bowl. "Just a few more minutes." Tsugumi said. "Then we'll check the consistency."

"Okay." Sayo continued to mix the dough, careful not to let her mind wander. This was serious business.

The few minutes passed quickly, with Sayo almost losing grip on the bowl only once.

When the time was up she relinquished the spoon back to Tsugumi, who gave it a stir of her own. "Looks good to me." She lifted a spoonful out and placed it on the tray. "We're making round cookies, so you'll make balls of dough like this." Once Tsugumi took the dough off the spoon, she balled it up into an approximately two centimeter sphere.

Sayo accepted the spoon back and scooped out about the same amount. She placed it on the tray near Tsugumi's and used both hands to try and shape it. The result was a bit lumpy, but was close to Tsugumi's in size and shape.

"You'll want to place them about four centimeters apart." Tsugumi moved Sayo's lump of dough a bit farther from her own. "Looks good though! I'll start on the frosting while you do this. Let me know when they're ready to go in the oven."

She left Sayo to accomplish the task, which was a little nerve-wracking. What if she made them too big or put them too close together? Ignoring her trepidation, Sayo continued with the job. She made the whole bowl of dough into little balls and placed them exactly four centimeters apart on the tray. They all just barely fit.

"I'm done." Sayo called over to Tsugumi, who had a smaller bowl out and was stirring something.

Tsugumi practically skipped over to examine her work. "Great, let's put them in the oven!" The kitchen had a wood-based oven; one of Sayo's duties was to fetch firewood for it. "Pick up the tray and follow me."

"Shouldn't you do this part?" As a beginner and absolute amateur, Sayo wasn't sure she should be handling the oven.

Tsugumi smiled broadly. "I believe in you." She said so sincerely that Sayo thought her brain might've just been fried.

"I…" It was hard to find a response to that. "Okay." Sayo picked up the tray and crossed the kitchen with Tsugumi, taking care not to bump any of the other staff. The stove stood along the outside wall, with a chimney out to let the smoke escape.

Tsugumi pulled the metal oven door open and Sayo slid the tray inside. "How long will they cook for?" Sayo wanted to know.

"Eight minutes, and then we'll check them." Tsugumi replied as she walked with Sayo back to the other side of the kitchen.

That wasn't too long to wait. Sayo watched as Tsugumi resumed preparing what appeared to be frosting. She added sugar to the mix and stirred at a much higher rate than Sayo had been doing before, folding the mixture in on itself over and over again.

The eight minutes passed quickly, with Sayo resisting the desire to check on how the cookies were cooking every minute or so. Tsugumi told her when it was time and passed her a towel to take them out with.

Sayo almost protested being the one to take them out, but remembered the last time she did and decided not to.

They looked done as Sayo pulled the tray out and put it on the counter. The color was slightly golden brown on the top, which Tsugumi said was how they should look. Once they were out of the oven, Sayo had to wait for them to cool enough to frost.

That only took about ten minutes, with Sayo only lightly burning her hand trying to pick one up.

"The last step is to add the icing." Tsugumi demonstrated spreading the now finished icing on one of the cookies. It was spread perfectly uniform. "Here you go." Tsugumi handed the knife to Sayo along with the bowl of icing. She started on a different dish while Sayo finished the cookies.

Sayo took the cookies one at a time, carefully adding the icing to each one. They didn't look as nice as the one Tsugumi did, but they were tolerable.

"Let's try them." Tsugumi popped back over after Sayo finished the last one. They each picked up a cookie and bit into it. It was pretty good, Sayo thought as she chewed. Maybe a little undercooked, but it didn't taste terrible. "You did a great job Sayo!"

"Only due to your great teaching." Sayo replied earnestly, establishing direct eye contact.

Tsugumi looked away. "You're a fast learner." She said quietly.

The same as earlier, Sayo wasn't sure how to respond to that.

A few moments of silence passed.

And then Sayo remember that she was supposed to be somewhere soon, or perhaps she already should've gone. Lisa was expecting her out on the training field and she probably should've left twenty minutes ago.

"I better get going." Sayo cleared her throat, breaking through the thickness in the air. "See you tomorrow."

"Bye!" Tsugumi perked up, giving a small wave as Sayo walked away. She started scooping the cookies onto a plate, likely to serve them with the next meal.

Sayo left the kitchen and crossed the castle to the stable gate, her steps a little quicker than usual. She walked out to the practice field and was unsurprised to already see Lisa already there.

Lisa held a wood sword and shield. She was running through drills, practicing a powerful sweeping strike. Sayo called over to her as she approached.

"Hey Sayo!" Lisa stopped swinging to greet her.

"Sorry I'm late." Sayo said as she stopped next to the knight. "I lost track of time."

Lisa merely smiled. "That's okay." She offered the wood shield to Sayo. It was about half of a meter across. "Here, take this." Sayo took the shield from her, slipping it over her left arm. "We're going to work on shield stance and blocking today."

"With just the shield?" Sayo asked, slipping into a defensive stance with the shield raised. She had used a shield a couple times before, but didn't regularly carry one into combat.

Lisa nodded. "Yes, for now." She circled around Sayo, examining her posture. "Spread your feet farther apart and bend your knees. You need to be able to take a blow without being knocked over."

Sayo followed the direction, feeling more confident in these instructions than she had in the cooking earlier. Ironically enough, this new posture was almost the exact one she'd been working to train Lisa out of for archery.

Lisa stopped in front of Sayo and pointed the wood sword her way. "I'm going to strike at you. Use the shield to block the blows. Ready?"

Sayo nodded, loosening her knees more so she could move if needed. Lisa lunged forward with a large telegraphed swing, likely as a test. Sayo moved the shield up to catch the blow, a shock of pain jolting through her arm and torso.

Lisa jumped back and wound up for another swing, this time coming in low. Again Sayo tried to move and block it, but was too slow. The wood sword hit her side and would likely leave a bruise.

"Watch your opponent's attacks and head them off. If they get even one step ahead of you the shield is useless. Revert your posture and don't lock your knees." Lisa chided, before taking another high swing. This one Sayo was able to block, but barely.

They continued this exercise for some time, with Sayo making small improvements in blocking attacks. By the time Lisa stopped Sayo was out of breath and both arms were covered in small bruises. They agreed that next time Sayo would try it with a sword in hand as well.

As Sayo handed the shield back to Lisa, she could've sworn she saw a flash of silver moving near the castle.


	13. Chapter 13

Author Note: This is up early because I am going to be busy today. Enjoy!

* * *

Sayo stood in the northwest tower with her gaze cast over the city. Though there hadn't been trouble yet, she was always prepared. The morning air was brisk and a slight breeze blew over the castle.

There were two other guards on watch that morning, one on the east wall and one on the southeast tower. This was one more than usual, which meant for the most part Sayo could stay in her tower.

There were still a couple hours until the next shift would start, so Sayo was surprised when she heard footsteps coming up the stairs. Sayo placed one hand on the hilt of her sword just in case, always wary of an attack.

A young woman with light brown hair appeared at the top of the steps. Sayo had met her before, what did she say her name was? Sayo lowered her hand as she thought. It took a moment, but by the time the woman fully emerged from the steps she was able to remember. Her name was Moca.

"Yooo." Moca greeted Sayo with a lilting tone, raising one hand in a half wave.

"Good morning." Sayo returned the greeting politely.

Moca walked over to one of the walls, turning and leaning her back against it. "How're things going?" She asked, tilting her head oddly.

Sayo wasn't exactly sure what was meant by that question. "Things are quiet today, no signs of trouble." Was how she decided to answer it.

"Good to hear⁓." Moca tilted her head back the other way. "Are you getting settled in the castle?"

So that's what she meant. "I am." Sayo nodded and relaxed her posture. "The people here have been welcoming." Especially Lisa and Tsugumi, she thought, but didn't add.

"I heard you've been training with Lisa." Moca had one eyebrow raised now. Sayo brought hers together, wondering if Moca could read her mind. No, that was impossible.

"I have." Sayo replied cautiously.

Moca stood up off the wall, smirking. "She's a good knight, leads a great charge." She raised one arm over her head in a stretch. "You shouldn't ask her out, that might go badly."

It took a moment for Sayo to process those words. "Excuse me?" What was Moca talking about?

"On a date? You shouldn't do it." Moca switched which arm she was stretching as she clarified, her tone the same as before.

For a few seconds Sayo could only stare, unable to find the words to respond to that. Why on earth did Moca think she wanted to ask out Lisa? They'd only known each other for a couple weeks and didn't even spend much time together. Besides, wasn't Lisa involved with Yukina? She certainly seemed to be.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Sayo gathered herself enough to speak. Why would Moca come up here to discourage her from asking someone out? She had so many questions, but wasn't prepared to ask any of them. "I have no intention of doing such a thing." She lowered her voice, glancing around to make sure the other guards weren't looking.

This brought a half smile to Moca's face. "Good." She said as her arms returned to her sides. "Keep it that way." She turned towards the stairs, giving the same half wave as before. "See ya around."

She didn't wait for Sayo to say goodbye before disappearing down the steps. As the sound of Moca's uneven footsteps faced, Sayo turned back to look over the city.

What a strange encounter, she thought. She had barely exchanged ten words with Moca before this, and those ten words hadn't been very exciting. What could have possibly made her think Sayo was going to ask Lisa out and why did she come up there to stop her? Sayo had been in a relationship in her hometown, but only for a few weeks. It had ended badly. She wasn't able to form relationships on the road after that due to constantly moving around.

She wasn't against dating girls, but Lisa? No, she hadn't even thought about Lisa that way.

Sayo continued to muse on her thoughts as more of her shift passed.

This lasted until she heard footsteps again coming up the steps, this time with a more even rhythm. That meant it wasn't Moca coming back and it still wasn't time to change the guard.

Silver hair appeared over the edge, and Sayo thought the weirdos were just popping out of the woodwork today. Yukina was dressed in casual clothes and appeared unarmed, which was good. Sayo hoped this didn't have anything to do with the earlier visit from Moca.

It could be about the cat.

"Can I help you with something?" Sayo started the conversation, not wanting to wait and let her mind run.

Yukina's eyes narrowed slightly. She walked past Sayo and towards the wall and looked out over the city, speaking without turning to her. "Would you like to spar?" She asked an odd question.

"Right now isn't the best time." Sayo shook her head, despite Yukina not being able to see the gesture.

The knight turned, golden eyes vibrant in the sunlight. "Not now, on Friday." She clarified, bringing her hands together in front of her body. "Wood swords and shields only, no bows."

Considering that Yukina was a knight and Sayo an archer, that didn't exactly sound like a fair fight. "I don't know." Sayo crossed her arms. "Why should I?" Where was this coming from?

"I want to test my skills against a new opponent." Yukina frowned as she spoke. "It'll be fun."

Again, Sayo didn't quite agree with those words. This could be a good chance to learn something though. There was always something to gain by sparring with a stronger opponent. Maybe she could glean some techniques from Yukina in addition to the training she was doing with Lisa.

"Alright, I accept." Sayo hoped she wouldn't come to regret this. "I work the morning shift on Friday, so let's meet in the training field around three o'clock." She would have to find a sword and shield to use, perhaps Lisa could lend her one. She had a few days to get the equipment.

Yukina nodded. "I'll see you then." She walked back past Sayo and to the stairs, descending slowly.

Sayo watched her go, a bit aggravated with her two guests for the day. Why hadn't Yukina asked her about this during the next meal? What was happening with these people today?

With no answers forthcoming, Sayo returned to keeping watch for the remainder of her scheduled shift.

* * *

The next couple days passed without much incident. Sayo went about her new routine with little trouble. She even asked Lisa if she could borrow a wood sword and shield, which the knight agreed to lend her.

Nothing much happened until the morning on the day before the sparring match, a cloudy Thursday. Sayo had just finished getting water from the well and was catching her breath in the kitchen. Tsugumi had a huge ball of bread dough and was kneading it on the table.

"Hey, Sayo." Sayo had been so busy watching Tsugumi she hadn't noticed Saya appear to her right. "Are you really sparring with Yukina tomorrow?"

Annoyingly, it seemed the word had spread. "I am, yes." Sayo turned to Saya as she replied.

"Is it really for Lisa's hand in marriage?" Saya asked the question eagerly, leaning in towards Sayo. Over at the table, Tsugumi's hands stilled.

"What?" Sayo balked at the question. "No, of course not." How absurd. Not only had Moca thought Sayo was going to ask Lisa out, but now this.

"Why are you fighting her then?" Saya tilted her head in a way that should've been endearing, but set Sayo on edge.

Sayo refused to lean away, refused to be intimidated by the baker. "I was impressed by her combat abilities. That's why I agreed to spar." She didn't like the look on Saya's face.

"Oh?" The baker's eyes twinkled, one eyebrow coming up.

"Saya, you should get back to work." Tsugumi interrupted the conversation, having resumed kneading the dough.

"Alright!" Saya stepped out of Sayo's personal space. "Good luck with your spar." She winked once and then retreated to her station. Sayo watched her go silently.

"Sayo, could you go get some grain from the storehouse?" Tsugumi continued giving directions, snapping Sayo out of her daze.

"Alright." Sayo replied and followed the directions. She left to fetch the requested grain, glad the conversation was over.

The topic thankfully didn't come back up when she returned, and soon Sayo was done with her kitchen work for the day.

She had worked with Lisa on her archery earlier in the week, so they were back at the training field today. Sayo stopped at her room to grab the sword and shield. Hopefully she would be able to hone her skills today for the upcoming spar.

This time, Sayo arrived at the training field before Lisa. She picked a spot and got started alone, equipping both her wood sword and shield.

First she practiced adjusting the shield to different angles, blocking imaginary strikes. After that Sayo practiced one of the single-handed forms she already knew while holding the shield. It was harder than without one and she wasn't sure if she was doing it correctly.

"Don't forget to keep your shield up!" Lisa's voice cut in while Sayo was mid-strike. Sayo paused in her drill to watch Lisa approach from across the field, lifting her shield higher at the same time.

"Good morning." Sayo put her sword and shield down when Lisa stopped in front of her, adopting a neutral stance.

Lisa smiled, also carrying a wood sword and shield. "Morning!" She chirped. "Ready to start?"

"Yes." Sayo nodded.

"Great." Lisa put her shield onto her arm. "I was thinking we should do something practical today, since you're sparring with Yukina tomorrow." Her eyes were down on her shield as she spoke, since she was adjusting it. Of course Lisa knew about the sparring match, of course.

Sayo was already annoyed earlier from talking about it. "So, you've heard." She adjusted her grip on the wood sword.

"Yukina mentioned it." Lisa raised her wood sword. "I think we should work on your defense today. I'll attack similar to how Yukina does so you can develop a strategy."

That was a surprising suggestion. "You don't have to do that." Sayo said with a shake of the head. "I'll learn how she fights when the time comes." Planning ahead seemed like cheating, plus it could hinder her more than help.

Lisa blinked a couple times before a grin crept onto her face. "Okay, I'll just attack normally then." She beamed, though Sayo wasn't sure why. "The goal is to block attacks and strike back when possible. Get ready!"

Sayo took a defensive stance with bent knees, a raised sword, and a ready shield.

Lisa moved quickly, thrusting forward with a fast strike. Sayo sidestepped the blow, not needing her shield to block it. Lisa came back with another swing, with Sayo catching this one on her shield. As Lisa staggered back, Sayo attempted a blow of her own. It failed spectacularly, catching on Lisa's shield as she dropped to a lower stance. The impact shook the whole sword and it flew out of Sayo's hands.

"Go get it, and let's try again." Lisa stood upright, a bead of sweat glistening on her forehead. She moved so quickly and agilely; Sayo was starting to understand why people thought she would ask her out. She chuckled at the notion as she picked up her sword, what an absurd thought.

The next time Sayo attempted a strike, the sword stayed in her hand. This was an improvement and would be vital in her spar the next day. If she was lucky, she'd last more than three minutes against Yukina.

Sayo still retired for the night with bruises, but not as many as before.


	14. Chapter 14

Author Note: Merry Christmas everyone!

* * *

The next day Sayo had guard duty in the morning. Her time on the wall went uninterrupted, which was good considering the amount of attention she'd received in the last week.

Afterward, lunch was a quiet affair. Ako and Lisa still led conversations as if nothing had changed, but Yukina was almost silent. That was fine by Sayo; she didn't tend to talk much either.

Sayo still had to help out at the kitchen before the sparring match, so she went and did that next. It provided a nice reprieve from the action to come. Tsugumi had her buy some fresh meat from the market.

After returning with the requested items Sayo was dismissed for the day. "Good luck!" Tsugumi said as Sayo walked towards the door, a large smile on her face. "I'm sure you'll win!"

That was a nice sentiment, especially since Tsugumi had never seen Sayo fight. "Thank you." Sayo looked back at her with a nod.

The castle was peaceful as Sayo passed through it, with barely a person in sight. She stopped upstairs to get the wooden equipment, leaving her bow and metal sword behind. She still didn't run into anyone as she walked back through the building and towards the stable gate.

It wasn't until Sayo saw the training field that she realized why. A whole crowd of people were gathered there, anywhere from thirty to forty by her estimate.

Compared to how many there normally were, which was never more than four, this was a strange sight. It appeared to be people from the castle, including Lisa, Ako, Rinko, Moca, Kasumi, and some of the other guards.

A few heads turned her way as Sayo crossed the field. Yukina stood amongst the crowd and was listening to Lisa talk. She was already armed with a wood sword and shield as well.

"I wasn't expecting a crowd." Sayo commented as she walked up to the golden eyed woman. Lisa had stopped talking upon her approach.

Yukina was frowning. "Me neither." She said as she cast a gaze around at the others. "But it seems word spread quickly." Moca, who had been looking their way, abruptly turned her head off towards the distance. "Do you want to call it off?"

If they rescheduled then this would probably just happen again, and Sayo didn't want to give up on having this match. "No, I'll still do it." Sayo frowned at the crowd. "We'll have to get them out of the way first."

"I'll help with that." Lisa had been listening to the brief conversation and interjected. She brought one hand up to her mouth and whistled. The loud noise echoed through the field, hurting Sayo's ears and drawing all eyes to Lisa. She raised one hand and pointed to the east side of the field. "All spectators please stand over there." She called to the crowd, who slowly complied.

Sayo walked in the opposite direction, into what was now open field. Lisa trailed after her, while Yukina followed more slowly.

"You're gonna need all the luck you can get for this." Lisa spoke as Sayo slipped her shield onto her arm. "Don't forget to keep your shield up." She was still smiling as usual, but it seemed strained today.

Yukina approached, having put on her shield and drawn her sword over while they moved towards their positions. The crowd was about thirty meters away. Sayo stepped away from the other two, raising her sword to the ready position. Yukina took her spot a couple meters away, taking a similar stance.

"This will be a duel to disarmament." Lisa stood midway between them. "Only wooden swords and shields are allowed, you will begin on my mark." She stepped out of the center and towards the crowd with one hand raised. She brought it down in a swift motion and a call of "Begin!"

Yukina lunged forward, so Sayo had to immediately raise her shield to block the strike. She made it in time, the blow reverberating pain down her arm.

She barely had a moment to recover before Yukina swung her shield around for a blunt blow. Sayo leapt back from that, barely able to escape in time.

Sayo was already breathing heavily as she adjusted the angle of her shield, ready for another strike. Yukina looked unbothered, barely having broken a sweat. Sayo could hear cheering from the crowd, but tuned it out. She knew going into this that she'd be outmatched here, but still had underestimated the knight.

Yukina came again with a flurry of low blows, with Sayo backpedaling away from them. She tried to swing, but it was effortlessly deflected. It was all Sayo could do to stay on the defensive.

A few blows later, and Yukina came up inside her guard. With one well angled strike against Sayo's sword she lost her grip on the weapon and it clattered to the ground.

For a moment Sayo just stood there, trying to catch her breath. The match had barely lasted five minutes, but it had felt like an hour. She truly was no match for a trained knight. One thing she'd need to work on was recovering from blows without any time between them. Another was maintaining her guard at any distance.

The members of the audience had started walking over as Yukina spoke. "You put up a good fight." She said, removing the shield from her arm.

"Not good enough." Sayo scoffed.

"Will you spar again with me, after Lisa's done training you?" Yukina's expression remained unchanged, despite the weight to these words.

The question was a surprise; Yukina hadn't mentioned anything about Lisa when she first approached about sparring. Sayo hadn't thought much of it outside of the rumors, but this duel seemed to have more meaning than it let on. Lisa seemed to have heard the question and when she stopped walking near Yukina she had an odd frown on her face.

"I suppose we could spar again." Sayo responded. Once she had improved Yukina would be a good bar to measure her own skill by, even if her actions had seemed to upset Lisa. "After I've improved in my training." Maybe she would even get good enough to stand on even ground with Yukina, or at least put up a decent fight.

"A-are either of you injured?" Rinko, who had been in the crowd, looked between Yukina and Sayo as she asked.

"No." Sayo shook her head. Her pride was slightly dented, but that couldn't be healed with herbs. Other than that, she only had a few bruises.

She talked a little with some of the crowd members, deflecting complements that came her way. Her swordsmanship would've gotten her killed in a real fight; she needed to keep improving it.

Before leaving, Sayo made plans to work on archery with Lisa the next day. The other knight seemed distracted when talking with her, her eyes flitting often to Yukina.

Sayo left before most of the crowd did, rubbing at her bruised left arm only once she was out of eyeshot.

* * *

The next day, Sayo hoped there wouldn't be any fallout from the sparring match. She never intended to start trouble or cause drama, but it appeared to be happening anyway. She managed to stand guard mostly gossip free, with the other guard on duty leaving her alone.

Sayo's hopes were dashed when she arrived at lunch. Lisa, Rinko, and Ako were already seated at one of the tables. That they beat Sayo there wasn't unusual, but Yukina not being with them was. She usually sat right next to Lisa, with the pair being inseparable.

As Sayo sat down at the table across from Lisa she couldn't shake the pit in her stomach.

"Hey Sayo!" Lisa greeted her warmly, same as normal.

Sayo dug into her lunch as she replied. "Hi." Ako's eyes popped from Lisa to Sayo and then back again.

The four made small talk, exchanging tidbits about their days. Sayo started to think nothing was wrong, that everything was okay, until Yukina arrived.

As the other knight approached, Lisa's posture stiffened. Yukina sat down next to Rinko, which was the farthest seat from Lisa available. Neither of them looked at each other.

The pit in Sayo's stomach grew as she looked between them. What was happening? Was this because of the spar yesterday? She never would've accepted it if she knew it would lead to trouble.

Ako carried on conversation as if nothing had changed. "Rin-rin, how are new herbs gowing?" She asked at a much louder volume than necessary.

"T-they're good." Rinko replied so quietly Sayo could barely hear her over the other conversations in the dining hall. "They should be… ready to pick… this week."

Ako gave a toothy grin. "And I can still have one for my…" She glanced around at the other table occupants before continuing. "For my summoning ceremony."

Rinko nodded with clear patience. "Yes… you may."

"Thanks Rin-rin!" Ako thrust one fist in the air in celebration. Yukina was looking stoically down at her food, not so much as glancing Sayo or Lisa's way.

Lisa had a strained look on her face, but was still following the conversation. She seemed to look everywhere except at Yukina. "What are you trying to summon?" She asked in almost her normal tone, raising an eyebrow.

"A demon." Ako was whispering now, leaning in as not to disturb the general populace. Sayo wanted to roll her eyes.

Lisa looked disturbed as well, but reacted well. "W-wow." She said after a heartbeat of delay. "Good luck!"

Ako laughed lowly in responses, lifting a hand to her face in an exaggerated gesture. Yukina's eyes raised for a moment, but immediately went back down.

Sayo sighed. It wasn't really her problem if they were fighting, but since it seemed to stem from the sparring match then maybe it was. Either way, she wasn't about to interfere in their relationship.

The conversation continued from there, though more subdued than usual, and soon Sayo was finished eating and ready to head out.

She stood and bid the others farewell, receiving a particularly passionate response from Lisa. Oddly, Ako rose at the same time. She followed Sayo to where they deposited the bowls and then out of the dining hall.

As Sayo walked towards the kitchen for her next job, she expected Ako to split off. Surprisingly the girl followed her, like a shadow. When Sayo reached the kitchen door she stopped to get to the bottom of it.

"Can I help you with something, Ako?" Sayo tried to sound polite at she turned towards the squire. The teen was fidgeting with her hands.

"I umm." She looked to her left, not making eye contact. "I was just wondering, are you and Lisa dating?"

This question was not one Sayo expected, but she supposed after the events of the previous week she should've. "No, we are not." She responded firmly. The gossip was so annoying, Sayo was starting to regret staying in this castle. "Excuse me."

Sayo entered the kitchen without waiting for a response, shutting the door firmly in Ako's face. Five sets of eyes were already directed her way, with four immediately moving away as she appeared in the doorway. Only Tsugumi's remained, inquisitive in the low kitchen light. Perhaps they had heard the conversation, or maybe they didn't.

With her second sigh of the day, Sayo crossed the kitchen to receive her instructions.

"How did the match go?" Tsugumi put down her kitchen knife as Sayo walked towards her.

Even though earlier discussions regarding the match had annoyed Sayo, she wasn't bothered by Tsugumi asking about it. "I got my ass kicked." She gave an honest recount of the match. "Yukina is a fantastic swordswoman."

"I heard you put up a good fight." Sayo's heart lifted as Tsugumi spoke. "We need some fresh vegetables today, I made a list." She pulled a small slip of paper out of a drawer and handed it, along with some coins, to Sayo with a smile.

"I'll get right on it." Sayo found herself smiling back.

As she left the kitchen and headed into town, she had more energy than before. She felt better, for some reason.

Hoping to maintain the good mood, she prayed for Yukina and Lisa to just make up and put an end to all of the rumors. They were seriously troublesome and the number of people asking her about her romantic life was absurd.

The end of her first month was soon approaching, maybe it was time to move on.


	15. Chapter 15

The next day was a Sunday, which meant the new guard schedule would be posted. It hadn't been up when Sayo checked on Saturday, so she had to go back in the morning to see.

After a quick trek up the stairs Sayo arrived at the guard headquarters. A couple guards were present, but only one that Sayo knew by name. Rimi was looking down at the schedule, for once not looking too anxious.

When Kasumi added the schedule that morning, she put it on top of the pile Sayo created previously, which was a vast improvement from how they used to be organized.

Sayo greeted Rimi as she walked over to the table, the other girl immediately shrinking back as her common appearance of fear returned. Sayo didn't take it personally; Rimi seemed to react that way to everybody.

She looked down at the neatly stacked schedules, scanning for her name. Oddly, she couldn't find it. Sayo checked each row carefully but wasn't able to locate her name a single time.

Had she been abruptly fired? Was that possible? She looked to see where Kasumi was posted today, since tracking down her captain would give her the quickest answer. It looked like she was at the front gate, so Sayo bid Rimi farewell and headed that way. She could barely hear Rimi's stuttered and quiet farewell.

Sayo descended the steps and walked to the gate, mind churning the whole way. Her contract didn't expire for at least a few more days and she'd been on the schedule just the day before. Hopefully this didn't have anything to do with the gossip swirling around.

"Sayo!" Kasumi greeted her warmly as she walked out of the gate. "Just the person I was hoping to see!" The guard stood alone by the gate, sword strapped to her hip.

"I should say the same." Sayo stopped in front of her, arms crossed. "What's going on with the schedule?"

Kasumi bounced on the balls of her feet far too energetically for this time of morning. "You're being sent on an assignment. Ran wants to see you about it asap."

Couldn't she have told her ahead of time or have written it on the schedule? That was just Sayo's growing general annoyance talking. "I'll report to her office." Was all Sayo said, nodding at Kasumi before walking back into the castle.

It had been a while since she'd been to Ran's office, but she still knew how to get there. It didn't take long to cross the castle.

Knocking on the door felt familiar, and when Sayo gained admittance Ran was the only one in the office.

"You wanted to see me?" Sayo asked as she shut the door behind her.

"We are sending you on an envoy." Ran skipped the small talk and started briefing her on the quest immediately. "You will be delivering a message to the kingdom of Pastel in the west. It is about a four day journey by horse." She looked down at a paper, presumably containing the details. So that explained why Sayo wasn't on the guard schedule. "You leave this afternoon. Get a week of rations for 5 people and report to the stables after lunch."

This was an interesting change of pace. It would be nice to get out of the castle for a few days, to escape the gossip and troublesome questions. "Will do." She replied with a nod.

Sayo left the office and shut the door behind her.

The best place to secure rations would be the kitchen, so she set off in that direction. Hopefully they would be able to put together enough food on such short notice. If they couldn't, perhaps Sayo could find some preserved food in the storerooms.

When Sayo arrived at the kitchen, all of the kitchen staff were present. They were cooking and prepping, going about their day as usual.

"Good morning." Sayo closed the door behind her as she entered and walked towards Tsugumi, who was boiling something in a pot. "I can't stay for long, but I have a request."

Tsugumi looked surprised, likely due to the break of routine. She took it in stride. "What can I help you with?" She stirred the pot as she asked.

"I'm being sent on an envoy. We need seven days' worth of rations for five people by this afternoon. Do you think the kitchen could put that together?" Sayo knew this wasn't a reasonable request; lunch was in four hours after all and the kitchen was always very busy, but she didn't have many options.

Tsugumi didn't seem bothered. In fact, her eyes lit up in excitement. "Absolutely we can! I think we could have it ready by…" She looked over at Saya, who shook her head no with both eyebrows raised. "Let's say one o-clock."

That worked. Sayo pretended she hadn't seen Saya cover her face with one hand. "That's perfect, thanks Tsugumi." Sayo smiled, relieved that this was going to work out.

"Glad to help!" Tsugumi beamed back, her grin bright and eager.

Sayo stepped away from her, towards the door. "I'll be back to pick it up." She said as she backed away. "Thanks again." Nobody had brought up Lisa or the sparring match while she was there, which was a blessing.

"See you later." Tsugumi called in farewell as Sayo exited the kitchen. Once the door was shut behind her, Sayo walked back to the stairs leading to her quarters. She would need to bring all of her weapons, her armor, and a change of clothes. If she packed everything up and brought it to lunch, then she wouldn't need to return to her room before leaving.

With that thought in mind, Sayo arrived at her quarters. She packed up a few changes of clothes and equipped her armor, sword, bow, and quiver. Since she didn't have to be anywhere for a few hours she took her time. Her sword was getting dusty from disuse, so she cleaned and sharpened it.

That took about an hour, which passed quickly.

With a couple hours to spare, the next thing to do was practice her archery. She had refined her skills from regular practice, but it was always good to stay on top of it. She wasn't good enough yet to say she'd mastered the art and was always making mistakes.

Just the day before she'd walked Lisa through adjusting for the wind, which was a valuable skill for an archer. Sayo still messed it up occasionally, so she needed to keep working on it.

Her walk to the archery range only took about 10 minutes even when carrying a bag of her clothes, and when she arrived there was only one person there. They were one of the other guards, someone who Sayo didn't know. She ignored them and chose a stall on the opposite end of the range.

For the next hour Sayo shot arrows, occasionally crossing to retrieve them. She hit the center of the target frequently, with the other shots coming close. Hopefully she wouldn't need to fight on this trip, but there was always a chance of attack when traveling.

By the time Sayo finished shooting the guard had gone, which was fine by her. She gathered all of her arrows, picked up her bag, and went to the dining hall for lunch. She was the first there today, which made sense since she was a little early.

Sayo stood in line and got some food, a delectable stew that was perhaps what Tsugumi was cooking earlier, and took a seat at a table. The others arrived soon after, with Lisa sidling in first all on her own.

She sat down directly across from Sayo, making friendly small talk. Sayo considered asking her about the gossip going around, but didn't want to open that can of worms.

Yukina arrived second. She appeared behind Sayo, which she only knew since she could see Lisa's shoulders tense up. As Yukina took the spot to Sayo's left, the conversation died.

Clearly these two had not resolved whatever their problem was.

Ako and Rinko soon joined, taking spots on either side of Lisa. With their presence, the conversation resumed. An interesting topic came up after only a few minutes.

"Ako, are you packed for the envoy?" Yukina was participating in the conversation, but was only talking to Rinko and Ako. This question caught Sayo's attention, wasn't she also being sent on an envoy?

Ako nodded fervently. "I'm all packed, just have to get my stuff." It seemed likely that they were talking about the same mission Sayo was going on.

"I too am leaving this afternoon." Sayo interjected, pulling the gaze of everyone at the table. "I'm going with a contingent to Pastel." This gained a few nods from both Lisa and Rinko.

"S-so we're all… going together." Rinko spoke up, looking in Lisa's direction.

Lisa emitted the first sigh Sayo ever heard from her. "I suppose we are." Her eyebrows were furrowed together. "I've been assigned to it as well." That made five people then, Sayo thought. This must've been the whole group.

Interesting that they would send Sayo, a guard, with two knights, a squire, and a medic. She wasn't sure how she fit in here, aside from her long range abilities. Yukina and Lisa weren't exactly in a state to travel and fight together, but they would have to deal with it. Sayo hoped they would behave themselves on this trip.

The conversation continued, touching on just what they would be bringing and some reports of bandits on the route.

Soon the meal was over and the group split up to finish getting ready. They agreed to meet at the stables in less than an hour.

Sayo went back to the kitchen to pick up the rations. Hopefully they would be ready, but if they weren't then she would help with the finishing touches.

Luckily, when Sayo reached the kitchen Tsugumi had five bags of food ready. She had separated it out by person, which would allow each of them to carry their own portion. The kitchen staff looked more tired than they usually would at this time, especially Saya.

"Thank you so much." Sayo said as she accepted the bags from Tsugumi. "It'll be a huge help on the mission."

"You're welcome." Tsugumi looked tired too, but smiled just the same. "Safe travels!"

After another thank you and farewell, Sayo left with the food in tow. She carried the bags carefully to the stables, wondering if she would ride the same horse as last time.

That thought turned out to be correct, as Kanon was already waiting in front of the stables with Neko ready. The other four, along with Ran, stood there as well. Their horses were also already geared up.

"Sorry I'm late." She was technically on time, but if the others were already ready then she was actually late. "I have the rations."

"Good, now that you're here we can get started." Ran was the only one without a horse or a weapon. She held a large envelope in her hands. "The five of you will be delivering this letter to Queen Chisato of Pastel. If she's willing, bring back a reply." Ran handed the envelope to Lisa, who tucked it into her belongings. Sayo also distributed the ration bags to each girl, one to each of them.

"We'll leave in ten minutes." Lisa declared, looking around at each member. Sayo nodded back at her, and then went to meet her horse.

Kanon handed her the reigns as Sayo approached. "Hey girl." She said to the beast. "Did you miss me?" The horse didn't respond, unmoving as Sayo brought one hand up to pat its neck. With that stoic approval, Sayo deposited her belongings and food into the saddle bags. She was glad to find a sack of horse feed tied to the saddle bags as well.

Sayo looked over at her companions. Yukina and Lisa were riding the same spotted brown horses as last time, but Ako and Rinko's were unique. Ako's horse was mostly black with a few white tufts, while Rinko's was a light crème color. They both appeared to be warhorses, same as the rest.

Once they were all ready, Sayo stepped up to mount her horse. Neko had treated her well last time, so she hoped this journey would be just as smooth.

"I'll lead out of town." Lisa spurred her horse a few steps towards the stable gate. "We'll get in formation once we're outside the gate."

Yukina opened her mouth as if to argue, but quickly closed it again. Lisa set off at a walk, with the others falling into line behind her. Sayo took the last spot, right behind Yukina.

They headed to the west gate without incident.

Lisa specified what formation they would be in, not leaving any room for argument. Yukina watched with narrowed eyes as Lisa took the lead. Sayo didn't intervene; she didn't want anything to do with this mess.

Yukina and Ako rode side by side on the second line, with Rinko and Sayo behind them. The formation would protect the healer while having the higher defense units in the front.

As they rode, Sayo imagined she could hear Yukina grinding her teeth.


	16. Chapter 16

Author Note: This chapter marks the half way point of publishing, wooh! I'm a little worried about this chapter; I hope it makes sense.

* * *

The first day of the trip went by slowly. Sayo kept her guard up as they rode, keeping an eye on the nearby forests for signs of trouble.

There was little conversation as they traveled. Ako tried multiple times to start one, and even succeeded in carrying one with Rinko for a while, but Yukina seemed insistent on not talking and Lisa was barely responding to the teen.

The group rode without interruption until the sun started setting ahead of them. Lisa led them off the road to look for a good place to make camp. They chose a clearing near a river, which would be a reasonably defensible position.

With the location decided, Sayo dismounted from her horse. She led it to drink at the river before tying its reins to a tree.

"Sayo, will you keep guard while we set up camp?" Lisa also tied up her horse and had turned to Sayo.

Sayo didn't have a problem with that. "I will." She drew her bow off her back and started checking the perimeter of the clearing. The clearing was only about ten meters across, with trees around the edges. The riverbank was clear of trees, with a clear view of the other side.

As Sayo walked the edges, she didn't notice anything unusual. They had scared the wildlife away with their arrival and there were no footprints or signs of other people.

Once she finished checking the perimeter, Sayo picked a spot near the river to keep watch from. She stayed on her feet, since they were more likely to be attacked while the sun was still up.

The other four group members went about completing tasks to set up camp while Sayo did this. Ako hauled out a folded up tent and constructed it with Rinko's help. They were chatting much more energetically than they had on the ride.

Lisa was building a fire pit while Yukina was gathering sticks and twigs for the fire. Unlike Rinko and Ako, they worked in silence. Soon they had enough wood and used some flint to start a small blaze. By that time the sun had descended beneath the horizon, leaving their camp lit only by the fire and the low glow of the moon.

Once that was done, Yukina walked in Sayo's direction. Sayo assumed it was to relieve her of her guard duties.

This assumption was grossly incorrect.

"Everything's set up." Yukina said as she approached, stopping about a meter from Sayo. "Before we eat, do you have a minute to talk?"

Sayo wanted to say no. She had a distinct feeling that she knew exactly where this conversation was going and she wanted nothing to do with it. Unfortunately, she wasn't that rude of a person.

"I have a minute." Sayo stowed her bow on her back. "What's going on?"

Yukina looked around, glancing towards the others. "Let's move further away." She said, walking towards the trees without waiting for a response. Sayo followed, a little nervousness bubbling in her stomach. She really hoped this wasn't about what she thought it was. They walked just far enough that they could still see the fire behind them, but wouldn't be heard by the others back at camp.

"Okay." Yukina's golden eyes gleamed in the darkness. She held her hands together, but was making eye contact with Sayo. "I want to tell you something." She said lowly, pausing to inhale. "I won't get in your way." The way she said this was with such finality that it must've meant something serious, but Sayo didn't know what she was talking about.

"I'm not sure what you mean." Sayo replied honestly, confused by the statement.

Yukina swallowed once. "If you want to ask Lisa out, I won't get in your way." Her voice was quiet, barely audible.

Oh. So it was this again, Sayo thought, grinding her teeth. There was no escape from this nonsense, was there?

There was only one way to put an end to it.

"Lisa!" Sayo called back towards camp. "Can you come here for a minute?" This was going to stop right now.

Yukina's eyes went wide as Lisa called back that she was coming. The golden eyed knight flapped her hands in protest, but to no avail. It only took a minute for Lisa to walk up.

"Hey, what are we doing in the bushes?" She asked, directing the question at Sayo.

"We are settling this right now." Sayo crossed her arms, looking between the two. Lisa looked surprised, but didn't interject, while Yukina had clenched her hands into loose fists. "The two of you are seriously pissing me off." Sayo wasn't a yeller, instead her voice grew quiet and firm with anger. "No offense Lisa, but I don't want to date you. Yukina, learn to mind your own business. I am sick and tired of being gossiped about. Please settle your problems and leave me alone." Sayo breathed more heavily than normal after speaking, as if she'd just been fighting.

Lisa turned to Yukina. "You were bothering Sayo again?" She asked, raising the volume of her voice.

"I was just worried." Yukina turned towards Lisa, expression set in a firm frown. "About you."

"Hah." Lisa scoffed. "And how was this supposed to help?" Her voice cracked near the end of the question.

"I…" Yukina reached one hand towards her, hesitating. Sayo started to feel like perhaps she should walk away and let them talk without her. "I wanted to make things clear." She muttered, dropping her hand back to her side. "All I want is for you to be happy." Sayo almost couldn't hear her.

"Oh yeah," Lisa crossed her arms over her chest. "And the other day you just wanted to protect me, right? That's what you said after the match." She must've been referring to the sparring match, Sayo thought. Was that why there were fighting?

"And you insisted that you didn't need my protection. But I meant it." Yukina nodded slowly. "She could've been dangerous to train with." Golden eyes glimmered in the moonlight.

"So why didn't you just say that before? Instead you challenged her to some asinine spar without a single word to me." Lisa inhaled shakily. "When you don't talk to me, when you shut me out to do things like this, that hurts more than anything else in the world." A tear slid down her cheek, and Sayo stepped back half a step from the pair. She didn't leave, but she felt even more out of place than before. Even though she brought them together to make up, she still felt irritated with both of them. "And I would've told you if I was interested in Sayo, because I care about what you think!" Lisa breathed heavily now, with both hands lifted to cover her face. Sayo wasn't offended by the statement; she just recently said something similar.

"You're right. I'm sorry. I…" Yukina reached towards Lisa again, this time gently pulling one hand away from her face. "I should've talked to you first. I'm so sorry." She looked down at that hand, cradling it. "After sparring with her, I think she's less dangerous than I did previously." The corner of Yukina's lips tilted up into a half smile.

"This isn't exactly the time for that talk." Lisa smiled through an increased number of tears. "But it's okay. Just, please, talk to me. That's all I ask."

"Absolutely." Yukina's voice sounded softer than Sayo had ever heard it before. She leaned forward slowly, pulling Lisa into a firm hug.

Just like that all was solved? Why hadn't they just had this conversation earlier, instead of dragging Sayo into their mess.

Sayo took them hugging as a signal that it was time to leave. They seemed to have made up, which was great. It would not save her from the gossip when they returned to the castle, nor would it make her any less annoyed with their actions. This was so obnoxious, why couldn't they have solved their problems without bothering her?

Lisa called after Sayo as she walked away, her voice hoarse from crying, but Sayo ignored her. She tried not to walk with such heavy footsteps as she neared where Ako and Rinko sat by the fire. They were already eating, so Sayo retrieved some food from her saddle bags and joined them.

Yukina and Lisa soon returned, with Lisa's face noticeably splotchy. They joined the rest of the group by the fire.

Sayo didn't so much as look their way.


	17. Chapter 17

Author Note: This chapter marks the official half way point of publication, being chapter 17/34. It's a little violent, so be aware.

* * *

For Sayo, the next couple days passed in a stew of annoyance. As they rode each day, she made polite conversation with Ako and Rinko, but was absolutely not interested in talking with Lisa or Yukina. They were so annoying, so infuriating. After the conversation where the two of them made up, Sayo only stewed in her thoughts. They were so obnoxious for dragging her into their relationship problems.

It felt petty, ignoring them like this, but Sayo was done caring.

That was the mindset she passed each day with.

Sayo was still stewing on the third night, which would be their last night on the road before they reached Pastel. She had the middle watch and had already slept for a few hours prior to taking her post.

This camp wasn't as defensible as previous ones. The trees were spread sparsely around it with wide gaps between them. There was no river or landform for cover, leaving the clearing exposed. As the sun set it was the best they could find, so they had little choice but to settle there.

Sayo sat near the center, eyes up, bow drawn, and ears listening carefully. Since they were now quite far from Circle, there was also a higher risk of danger. She was angry with the knights, but still didn't want to endanger their lives through negligence.

For the first couple hours on guard, all was quiet. The rest of the envoy were sound asleep, with only the sound of insects to keep Sayo company.

As she sat, felt the ground beneath her shake minutely. When she pressed her ear to the dirt, she heard a familiar sound. It was the sound of hooves, still a distance away but moving at a gallop. The sound intensified as she listened. In the middle of the night that could only mean one thing.

"Everyone up!" She rose to her feet and called out to the others. "An attack is coming!" Sayo took an arrow from her quiver and aimed her bow in the direction of the noise.

The first to appear was Yukina only moments later, already having strapped on her chest plate and grasping her sword. Lisa followed closely behind, wearing similar armor and carrying her sword and kite shield. The sound of hooves grew even louder.

Ako appeared with a sword in hand right as the attackers burst into the clearing. There were four men on horses, a relatively small number. They each carried swords of various lengths.

Sayo pulled back the string on her bow as Lisa stopped at her side. She took aim at the closest one quickly, letting loose an arrow. It landed in the bandit's arm, which wasn't enough to stop him. Both Lisa and Sayo had to dodge out of his horse's way as he barreled past, sword swinging. Yukina reached the pair, shared a couple words with Lisa, and then moved back towards the middle of the clearing.

Another horseman rode towards the tent, likely to try to trample it. Rinko stepped out while he was only half way there and looked slowly in his direction. Sayo didn't really have much time to watch, but Rinko had an odd expression on her face, one of both serenity and tension.

Sayo had to look away as the third swordsman wheeled towards her. She drew her sword and deflected a blow as he rode by.

"Get down." Lisa's voice came from right next to her ear, and Sayo felt herself pushed forward to the ground. When she looked back all she saw was Lisa's back and her shield held proudly in front of her. Lisa's right arm was bleeding steadily, dripping onto the grass. By her feet lied the bandit with the arrow in his arm, dead. His horse had fled.

Sayo wondered when Lisa had been injured as she quickly rose to her feet. "Thanks." She said. Lisa nodded at her once before moving on to tackle the next bandit. She didn't even stop to staunch the bleeding.

On the other side of the clearing, Sayo was surprised to see the tent still standing. Rinko stood near them, and Sayo could see a body on the ground nearby. Ako was between Sayo and the tent, trying to help Yukina.

Yukina didn't seem to need Ako's help. She had her two handed sword drawn and was fighting one of the bandits. He had foolishly dismounted and seemed to have challenged Yukina to single combat.

It would be the last mistake he ever made.

The bandit charged forward, swinging wildly. Yukina raised her sword slowly, awaiting his arrival. When he was only a meter away, she moved. It was so fast that Sayo could barely see it. The bandit fell to the ground at Yukina's feet, with the blood on her blade the only evidence that she had moved. Sayo was starting to think that Yukina went easy on her during their spar and felt another twinge of annoyance.

There was only one bandit left, watching with wide eyes from upon his horse. He spun around to flee, but Sayo felt no mercy for him, as he had been the one to charge her just minutes before. She drew her bow, taking aim at his retreating back, and fired. His horse kept galloping away even as its rider fell to the ground.

Sayo kept her bow drawn as she looked around, confirming that the attackers were all defeated. Ako and Rinko were walking towards Sayo, while Yukina and Lisa had huddled together between them. Sayo walked towards the pair of knights slowly, wary of a second wave.

By the time Sayo made it to Yukina and Lisa, they had sat on the ground and were inspecting the cut on Lisa's right arm. "This looks deep." Yukina's eyes were cast down as she examined the wound.

"It's not that bad." Lisa flinched in the middle of her reply, invalidating her claim. Sayo got closer to look and agreed with Yukina's initial assertion. The cut was still bleeding quite heavily. "Shouldn't we move away from here first?" Lisa asked and only received a glare from Yukina in reply.

When Rinko made it over and saw the blood, she quickly wiped her dagger on the grass and sheathed it. "H-how did it happen?" She asked, taking Yukina's spot next to Lisa.

"He was going for Sayo, couldn't get my shield up in time." Lisa said through gritted teeth as Rinko examined the injury. This information was a surprise; Sayo had assumed that Lisa gained the injury some time when she wasn't looking, not from trying to protect her.

Rinko stepped back. "You need… stitches. I'll get the supplies…" She turned towards Yukina. "Get some… bandages… and apply pressure."

"Absolutely." Yukina nodded once before moving quickly towards her horse. Rinko walked back to the tent, leaving Sayo with the other two. After less than a minute Yukina returned with the bandages, folded them up, and applied them to Lisa's arm.

"I can hold it." Lisa said, pulling her arm out of Yukina's grasp. "Really, it's going to be okay." This didn't seem to alleviate Yukina's worrying.

A moment later Rinko returned, a small box in hand. She opened it, pulling out a small needle and some medical twine. Sayo didn't consider herself easily disturbed, but she looked away as Rinko pulled back the bandages and started sewing up the wound.

Yukina hovered closely on Lisa's left side, with her right hand intertwined with Lisa's and her left clenching with each sharp inhale of pain.

Ako walked over to Sayo, standing near her silently. For a few minutes nobody spoke, which left Sayo to her thoughts.

Even though she'd been ignoring Lisa for the past couple days, the other woman had still protected her. Sayo was angry with both of these knights, but yet when it counted, in the heat of battle, that hadn't mattered to her or to them. Nobody else in the group seemed to be injured, which only led to a faint feeling of guilt pooling in her stomach as Sayo avoided watching the first aid. If she was a better swordsman, this wouldn't have happened.

"All done." Rinko muttered, tying the stitches and cutting the string. "I'll apply … the bandages… in a moment." Yukina handed Rinko a fresh roll of bandages, which she wrapped around Lisa's arm. "Keep it elevated… and clean. I'll check it… again in the morning."

"Thanks Rinko!" Lisa's face was pale, even in the dim light. Despite that, she still managed some enthusiasm as she rose to her feet. "Let's move camp away from here and then get some more rest." She walked over towards her horse more slowly than usual, but didn't require help in untying it.

The group quickly got to work. Ako and Rinko went to fold up the tent, while Sayo and Yukina gathered the other horses. The ones who had been asleep each threw on an additional layer of clothes as they packed up their belongings, though Lisa required Yukina's assistance to do so.

In ten minutes, they were ready to leave. They left the bandits bodies in the clearing, intending to tell someone at Pastel about their location when they arrived the next day.

Yukina took the lead in the formation as they rode away from their old camp. The group only rode for about fifteen minutes before she called for a stop. They had come across a much smaller clearing than the old one, but it would be large enough for them to stay for the remainder of the night.

"We'll stay here." Yukina took control of the group. She dismounted and then helped Lisa do the same. "Ako and I will keep watch for the remainder of the night. Once the tent is set back up, Lisa, Sayo, and Rinko should get some sleep.

Sayo wasn't going to argue with this, especially since she still wasn't talking to Yukina and Lisa, though Lisa still put up a halfhearted attempt to argue. Sayo followed Ako and Rinko away from the pair and tried to help them with the tent. She wasn't much use at this, so she mostly watched.

Soon it was ready, so Sayo grabbed her bedroll and crawled in. Rinko soon joined, followed by Lisa last.

As Sayo drifted off to sleep, the image of Lisa standing over her, her shield reflecting the moonlight, wouldn't leave her mind.


	18. Chapter 18

Author Note: Second to last chapter in arc 2. Some things are ending while others are starting.

* * *

Sayo's whole body ached as she dragged herself out of her blankets, weary from the late-night ambush. Rinko was still asleep in the tent, so she took care not to wake her as she exited.

The sun had already risen, meaning Sayo slept past her usual waking time. She got some food from her saddle bags and joined the others where they sat in a semicircle, taking the furthest spot from Yukina and Lisa. They didn't have a fire, likely to try and prevent a second attack.

After ten minutes, Rinko joined them. There was little conversation as they ate and then prepared for the day. Lisa's wound needed to be rewrapped, but Rinko reported that it didn't look infected. Sayo still felt annoyed with Yukina and Lisa, but not as much as she had the previous day.

They were soon ready to head out, with Yukina checking the map and Ako and Rinko packing up the tent. Sayo joined Lisa in readying the horses.

"We're taking a new formation today." Lisa said after the group mounted up. "Yukina will join me in the front. Rinko will ride second with Ako and Sayo in the rear. We should reach Pastel in a few hours." Sayo didn't have any problems with that and neither did the others, so as they rode out she took up position next to Ako.

They rode at the same pace as the previous days, despite Lisa's injury. She was on the left side of the formation, probably so that she could still defend in case of an attack. Yukina and Lisa talked as they traveled, though Sayo couldn't hear them from the back row. It didn't bother her to not have to listen to them. She exchanged a few words with Ako during the ride, but mostly looked around for signs of trouble. Luckily, there were no problems on this leg of the journey.

After about three hours they finally reached their destination. Sayo didn't notice it until they had almost arrived. Pastel had walls, like Circle, but they were shorter and wider. As the group approached the gate, an armed guard stopped them.

"Halt!" He said, stepping in their path. Lisa and Yukina stopped in front of him. "What business do you have here?" His eyes flitted between their weapons, stopping on the bloody bandage adorning Lisa's arm.

Lisa took charge. "We are an envoy from Circle with a message for the Queen." Her expression was neutral, devoid of the plethora of emotion she usually showed.

Her statement seemed to do the trick. "Very well, but I'm sending a few men as an escort." The guard stepped out of the way.

"We accept your escort." Lisa responded cordially. The guard then called over a few other guards and talked to them quietly. They would probably be the ones escorting them.

Once the guard finished talking to the men, he turned back to Lisa. "These guards will escort you to the castle. Please dismount and remain on foot inside the city."

"Absolutely." Lisa dismounted as requested, a surprisingly smooth motion considering her injury. Sayo followed suit, holding her horse's reins to guide it.

Once they were all on foot, they followed the soldiers into town. Sayo looked around as they walked through, curious to see what was different about this town. The thatch on the roofs was a slightly darker color here, which was interesting. There were plenty of children playing in the streets and merchants conducting trade. The city was smaller in size than Circle, and they soon reached the castle.

One of their escorts started talking with a guard at the castle gate, who said he would fetch someone to assist them. A few minutes later a young woman who Sayo had seen once before appeared to greet them. It had been almost a month since the party, but Sayo hadn't forgotten the long haired suitor who she watched make the princess blush.

"It is always wonderful to have visitors!" The tall woman posed with a flourish. "By all means, please come in. I will show you where to leave your horses." With another large gesture she signaled for them to follow her inside.

They took a hard right between the castle wall and the main building before reaching the stables. For the moment, Sayo only tied her horse to a pole outside of the stables. They didn't yet know whether or not they would be staying the night.

With the horses taken care of, the woman led the group to where they could deliver the letter. She talked as they went, saying something about kittens that Sayo couldn't quite comprehend. Yukina was listening raptly, nodding along to the soliloquy.

The interior of the castle was decorated with blue banners and had lower ceilings than the one at Circle. They passed through a courtyard like space, where a young woman was practicing drills with a dagger.

Soon they stopped in front of a large set of double doors. Their guide pulled one open and announced their presence. When Sayo looked in, this appeared to be a throne room. It had a high ceiling ordained with blue banners and large windows along one wall. About three quarters of the way back a blonde woman sat on a throne with two fully armed knights by her side.

Lisa led the group inside, and when she bowed her head Sayo followed her lead. "I bring a missive from Circle, your majesty." She held the envelope out in front of her. Their guide took it from were Lisa stood over to the queen.

"Thank you, Kaoru." Queen Chisato, which was what Sayo heard her name was, was dressed in vibrant blues and reds. She opened the letter slowly and removed the paper inside. It contained two pages. The corner of her lip twitched up on the first page, but when she reached the second it dropped. "Thank you for delivering this letter." The queen looked up at the envoy, her gaze concerningly icier than it had been before. Sayo wondered what the contents said. "The journey must have been difficult. I must apologize for any danger you faced on our roads." Her eyes, like so many already had that day, flicked over Lisa's bloody bandages. "I will have a response composed for you tomorrow."

Lisa looked up as if to ask a question, but one raised hand by the queen stopped her.

"You will stay in the castle tonight. Kaoru will show you to the guest quarters." Chisato folded up the letter and put it back inside the envelope.

"We humbly accept." Even though it hadn't been an offer, Lisa still treated it as one. She bowed again before following Kaoru out of the throne room. Sayo took care not to look back as they exited, not wanting to be rude to foreign royalty.

As soon as the double doors were shut behind them, Ako almost burst out of her skin. "Wow!" She exclaimed. "That was so cool! Right Rin-rin?"

"It was… interesting." Rinko replied at a much more subdued volume as they followed Kaoru to another part of the castle. "We shouldn't… talk about it… here."

"Oh, sorry." Ako apologized, but was not cowed. She changed the subject and carried the conversation until they arrived at their quarters for the night. During the walk Lisa also informed Kaoru about the bandit attack and the bodies still out in a field, and Kaoru said she would pass the information along. They soon arrived at a nondescript hallway.

"Here we are." Kaoru gestured at two doors across the hall from each other. "This room holds two, while the other holds three. They are yours for the night."

Sayo wanted to claim a spot in the two person room, because no matter how it turned out then she wouldn't have to deal with both Yukina and Lisa at the same time.

Ideally Rinko would be her roommate, wonderfully quiet Rinko.

Alas, while Sayo paused to think Ako had already called dibs on the two person room and had taken Rinko with her. This left Sayo with the two people she least wanted to talk to, Yukina and Lisa.

Sayo followed Lisa and Yukina into the shared room with a sigh. There were three beds inside, along with a closet, a table, and two chairs. Lisa quickly claimed one of the chairs, sitting down with a weary exhale.

"I'll go make sure the horses are taken care of and get our things." Yukina said almost immediately. "Lisa, you stay here and rest." She didn't so much as look at Sayo as she walked out of the room. Perhaps it was retaliation for Sayo ignoring her for the last few days, or maybe even for being the cause of Lisa's injury. After the door was shut, Sayo took a seat in the other chair.

She hoped Lisa would just let them sit in silence, but of course that didn't happen.

"Hey, Sayo." Lisa turned her seat towards Sayo, speaking softly. "I know you're mad at us, and you have every right to be, but I still want to apologize."

Sayo turned slowly Lisa's way, establishing eye contact. "I'm listening." She was tired of being upset.

Lisa smiled at that. "I'm sorry I didn't do more to prevent the rumors. I couldn't have stopped them, but I should've tried harder to diffuse them." She spoke earnestly and sincerely. "And I should've talked to Yukina instead of sulking while she acted without me. I'm sorry it turned out the way it did, and I don't want to lose your friendship over this."

Ever since the night before, when they were attacked, Sayo had found her anger cooling. It felt all day like she had been reminding herself to be mad at them. This was the last part she needed. "I accept your apology." Sayo replied, and a huge grin spread across Lisa's face. "But there's one thing I don't understand." The knight's expression fell at that. "Why did you take that blow for me yesterday? Don't deny it." Lisa had raised one hand in protest, but swiftly put it back down at Sayo's words. "I know you did." It had haunted Sayo since it happened, the image of Lisa's form standing tall above her own and the feeling of being shoved to the dirt.

"Here I thought you hadn't noticed." Lisa chuckled, looking down and fiddling with her bandage. "It isn't anything complicated. You're my student; I have to protect you." She was frowning now. "And we're friends. I would never let one of my friends get hurt if there's something I can do about it!" Lisa lifted her head back up with a nod.

"At the risk of your own life? That's stupid." Sayo gave her honest opinion of the sentiment. "But I appreciate it all the same. Thank you for saving my life."

Lisa started to tear up yet again. "Sayo…" She wiped at her eyes with one hand. When Lisa stood and approached with arms outstretched for a hug, Sayo rose to her feet and allowed it. She gently returned the embrace, wary not to bump Lisa's injury.

At that moment, of course, Yukina returned to the room. She carried multiple bags with her as she entered, dropping them on the table. Lisa pulled back from the embrace as she entered, walking over to her.

"Yukina, you need to apologize to Sayo." She insisted, pointing at Yukina with one finger.

Yukina shook her head. "I don't want to."

"Doesn't matter, you still owe her an apology." Lisa wouldn't take no for an answer. They only went back and forth a couple times before Yukina gave in.

She took a few steps towards Sayo, head held high. "I'm sorry for involving you in court drama."

"Thank you." Sayo nodded, knowing that was the best she'd get. "I'm sorry that I ignored you for the last few days."

Yukina smiled back at that, and, for now, all was forgiven.

It was if a weight had been lifted off of Sayo's shoulders, one she hadn't even realized she was carrying. These two people who she'd fought side by side with, these were her friends. Though they had fought, they made up. She didn't have to move on from Circle; she could stay.

"We should be thanking you." Lisa linked her good arm through Yukina's. "Since, well, after you got mad at us the other night, we kind of, got together."

That wasn't as big of a surprise as it should've been, especially after watching Yukina dote over Lisa's injury. "Really?" Sayo asked, looking between their faces.

"Yes." Yukina nodded once, gold eyes set. Lisa looked like she might cry again.

Sayo congratulated them, and they recounted the story of what happened after Sayo walked away that night only a few days before. It was crazy for Sayo to think about, but all of the drama led to an improvement in their relationship. Somehow, they had learned something.

Sayo wasn't one to judge; despite the trouble she gained something too.

Conversation flowed between the three better than it had since before the spar as they talked through the evening, a wonderful and welcome change.


	19. Chapter 19

The group was in the castle for a total of about 20 hours. In that time they ate two meals, which Sayo noted were not nearly as good as the ones she had at Circle. She spent time catching up with Yukina and Lisa, filling in the gaps of the last week.

After breakfast in the morning, Kaoru appeared and handed Lisa a return letter for king Uehara. She said that Chisato sent her regards and wished them safe travels. All of this came with a pose and a flourish.

It was as good as a dismissal, so the group gathered their belongings from their temporary quarters and went to get their horses. The horses were already being prepared by a stable hand, so soon the party was on their way. Sayo wasn't sad to be leaving Pastel.

Just as it had taken four days to reach Pastel, it would take the same four days to return to Circle. During these four days they were not attacked a single time, which was great. All members of their party had also resumed making normal conversation with the rest, so the time passed by relatively quickly. They camped in most of the same places as they did on the way over, not including the camp where they were attacked previously.

Sayo found that, though she was worried constantly about an ambush, the return ride was far better than the one down.

On the fourth day of riding they reached Circle in the midafternoon. The wall guards waved as they passed through the gates, slowing their horses to a walk as usual. They soon reached the castle and knocked at the stable gate. Within a few minutes it was opened to them and they entered the castle.

Kanon helped Sayo stow her horse, and she told the blue haired woman that she'd be back later to get her things and assist in caring for Neko. Once all of the horses were safely in stalls, Lisa led the way to Ran's office.

Passing through the courtyard felt like coming home, the familiar halls oddly welcoming. Sayo could see the flowers she'd planted with Arisa blooming well in the courtyard. It was a strange feeling, but not an unwelcome one. She wondered how Tsugumi had been doing while she was out of the castle. The group soon passed the courtyard and neared Ran's office.

Lisa knocked on the door, which was followed by Ran's voice calling them in. The five of them barely fit in the open part of the office, but they made it work.

Ran's expression was neutral as she looked between them, spending an extra few seconds on Lisa's right arm. "Welcome back." She said. Lisa stepped forward and handed her the letter from queen Chisato. "Thank you. I will ensure that the king gets this." Ran stowed the envelope in her desk. "How was the road?" Sayo knew she wasn't asking about the condition of the stones.

"Not too bad." Lisa replied chipperly.

Yukina scoffed quietly. "One bandit attack, a few hours outside of Pastel." She had her arms crossed.

"I see." Ran replied evenly. "Well, take the rest of the day to rest and see a medic if you need to. You're dismissed." Sayo turned to leave with the group but was called back. "Sayo, could you stay please."

"Alright." Sayo turned back and stood in front of Ran's desk as the others filtered out.

Once the door was closed Ran took a piece of paper out of her desk drawer. "It has been a month since you first signed your contract." She turned the paper towards Sayo; it was a new contract. "It expired while you were gone. This one is for a whole year; will you renew it?"

Sayo had been thinking that it had been around a month since she started, and she was right. Did she want to renew for a whole year? Did she want to stay here, in this castle, for that long?

Hours spent teaching Lisa and being taught by her flashed through her mind. She remembered catching Yukina with the cat and fighting with both of them on this trip. She thought about the gossip swirling around that would still need to be addressed if she stayed. She thought about the friendships she'd formed.

Sayo thought about Tsugumi, the brilliant young cook she saw every day.

"I'll sign it." Sayo stepped forward, taking the quill from Ran. She glanced over the contract and confirmed that it was the same as before, with only the amount of time altered, before signing her name along the bottom.

"Excellent." Ran examined the paper after Sayo signed it and then stowed it back in her desk. "You're dismissed for today. Tomorrow your regular duties will resume."

"Thank you." Sayo said her goodbye and walked out of the room, making her way through familiar halls. She wanted to go back to her room and just sleep the journey off, but there was one place to stop first.

Since she would be resuming duty tomorrow, another guard would probably tell Kasumi about her return. The captain would add her to the schedule and even if she didn't, Sayo would have her pick of the morning or afternoon shift. No, the person she needed to go see was Tsugumi. There was no way Tsugumi had seen her group arrive at the castle, so Sayo wanted to make sure she knew that Sayo would be back at work the next day.

That was the only reason Sayo's feet carried her to the kitchen.

As she entered, the delicious smells of baking food washed over her. The staff all looked up to see who arrived, but resumed their tasks when they saw who it was.

"I'm back." Sayo announced as she walked in and closed the door behind her.

Saya waved and Tsugumi called out in greeting. "Welcome back Sayo!" She was cutting up some meat, as Sayo approached she wasn't sure what kind.

Tsugumi's smile brought warmth to Sayo's chest; she was glad she decided to stay.

* * *

Omake:

Tsugumi watched Sayo leave, still smiling. It would be a lot of work to prepare the rations so quickly, but she was confident they could do it. It was nice to be useful to her, to be able to help. She often watched Sayo come and go, unable to offer much more than a brief cooking lesson or a few kind words.

She had wanted to offer assistance with the gossip problems Sayo was having, but had only managed to squelch them in the kitchen. At least Tsugumi could do that much.

Even as the head chef, she didn't contribute nearly as much around the castle as her friends did.

Saya walked over to Tsugumi with a sharp frown on her face, snapping her out of her thoughts. "Why did you accept this?" She clearly didn't agree with the decision. "We'll be lucky to have it ready even ten minutes ahead of time."

That was true, it would be a lot of work to have the rations ready. But even if they could just make it, it would be worth it. "We can do it." Tsugumi said, already thinking about what they would need to compile for the rations. "Let's get started."

They still had regular meals to prepare, so Tsugumi divided their forces to take on all assigned tasks.

She would be useful; she could do this.

* * *

End arc 2. See you next Saturday for the start of arc 3!


	20. Chapter 20

Since the trip to Pastel, Sayo's life had returned to what she now considered normal. In the last few weeks she had continued both her guard duties and her training with Lisa. Lisa had improved enough to hit the target more than half the time, while Sayo was almost good enough with the shield to consider buying and equipping one. She started looking for one in town, but had yet to find a good fit.

Baking with Tsugumi had also continued, though not very frequently. Sayo still mostly watched, helping when prompted. She had fun at these events and enjoyed spending time talking with Tsugumi.

The rumor front improved as well. When Yukina and Lisa started walking around the castle holding hands, the mutterings about Sayo's involvement in their relationship died out. A couple people asked her for details on their relationship, but when she firmly told them to leave her alone they stopped asking.

On this morning the skies were overcast. Every once in a while the sun would peek through, bringing a bit of warmth, but it couldn't completely fight the chill that had settled over the castle. Sayo stood on the northwest tower, eyes turned towards the town. She wore an additional layer under her armor to try and stay warm. On days like today, with no breeze, the weather was tolerable.

The people were still bustling, despite the cold. They went about their business as if nothing had changed.

Since Sayo was the only guard on the towers this morning, she spent some time patrolling. She walked between the towers, looking out from each for a portion of her shift. It was worrying keeping watch alone, but she managed it.

It was almost the end of her shift, with less than half an hour left, when she was back in the northwest tower. When Sayo looked back over the town, she noticed a bright splash of blue in the crowd. The light shade was eerily familiar, far too much so.

Could it be? No, it wasn't possible, was it?

She was hundreds of kilometers from home; there was no way Hina was here.

Sayo couldn't make out the person's face, but their head of blue hair was unmistakable. Her stomach churned as she turned away from the view, hoping that she was wrong. She also hoped the person hadn't noticed her on the tower.

It was possible that someone else had the same hair color or had died their hair to that light shade of blue. Sayo didn't want to believe it could be Hina.

The last portion of her shift passed in a cloud of worry. When Sayo stopped for one last look at the town, the person with blue hair was gone.

As another guard took her place, relieving Sayo from her shift, she prayed that whoever they were, they had left town. She never wanted Hina to find her here.

Next Sayo went to eat lunch with her friends. She walked through the castle with practiced ease, knowing exactly which turns to take.

The others had beaten her there, as they usually did when Sayo worked the morning guard shift. She got some food, a chicken dish of some kind, and joined the others. They greeted her warmly and Sayo smiled back as she returned the sentiment.

After Sayo sat down and started eating, Yukina leaned towards her from across the table. "I heard something today." She said quietly, almost at a whisper, drawing only Lisa's eyes from the other three. "Ran's hiring more archers this week."

"Interesting." Sayo kept her voice low too, since Yukina clearly didn't want to bring attention to this topic. "How many?" New archers would mean new tower guards, which they needed. Having only one person on guard like they did this morning wasn't a good practice.

"I'm not sure." Lisa leaned in too as Yukina replied. "But they're increasing the guard shifts." Yukina cast her eyes around, making sure nobody outside of their small group were listening. "Don't tell anyone, but I think there might be an attack coming. Why else would they shore up the castle defenses like this."

"Maybe they just want to have more guards per shift." Lisa countered, perhaps a little too loudly as Ako's eyes flicked their way. Either way was worrisome to Sayo; increasing the number of guards meant that they were worried about something, be it an attack or otherwise. The fact that she might've seen Hina in town earlier didn't do anything to alleviate her concerns.

"Doesn't matter." Yukina seemed to share Sayo's worries. "Just keep an eye out. This is all rumors for now, but it doesn't hurt to be prepared."

Sayo was going to respond in affirmation but was interrupted. "Ooh, is this a secret meeting of the organization of darkness? Ako wants in!" Sayo leaned away as Ako interjected loudly. Lisa chuckled nervously in response, glancing between Sayo and Yukina for support.

It only took Yukina a moment to react. "Membership dues are paid in blood, are you prepared to fully devote yourself?"

Ako paled in response and Lisa burst out laughing. "She's joking Ako, don't worry about it." Lisa waved one hand dismissively.

"I'm serious." Yukina insisted with a stern expression and a far greater sense of humor than Sayo had heard from her before.

With that joke the atmosphere at the table returned to normal. Sayo joined in the conversation occasionally, but was still thinking about the potential of an attack.

This castle was her home now, and if it came under attack she vowed to defend it. There wasn't too much she could do from the towers, but at least she could watch for trouble and raise the alarm if something happened. Hopefully it wouldn't come to that.

At least having more archers would mean better staffed guard shifts. Watching the whole roof on her own wasn't a productive exercise. It would be nice to have another person or two up there with her, helping keep an eye out for an attack. If an attack did come, they'd be better prepared with more people too.

Ideally nothing would happen, but it was better to be safe than sorry.


	21. Chapter 21

Now we're boppin'

* * *

The next morning Sayo was once again on guard duty in the northeast tower. She wasn't alone today; one other guard stood in the southwest.

Sayo's shift was uneventful as usual. With another guard on duty she was able to focus on just the north side of the castle, which was better than the day before.

She was standing on the northeast tower, near the end of her shift, when she heard footsteps coming up the stairs. It was surprising since she wasn't expecting the next guard for at least ten minutes, but maybe they were coming up early.

Oddly, Kasumi popped up out of the stairs and onto the landing. She moved with her usual pep, bouncing with each step. Another person followed closely behind, someone with light blue hair who Sayo knew quite well.

Even though Sayo hadn't seen Hina in over a year, there was no mistaking her. With her shoulder length blue hair, bright green eyes, and distinct mischievous smile, there was no doubt in Sayo's mind. The way her eyes lit up when she saw Sayo confirmed it.

How unfortunate that she had shown up here. Sayo already felt the familiar anger she carried for her sister rising in her throat. She pushed it down; Hina hadn't done anything yet besides arrive.

Hina was armored similarly to how Sayo was, with a bow, short sword, and patchwork leather armor. She didn't say anything as she stopped next to Kasumi. To see that from HIna was impressive show of restraint.

"Good morning Sayo!" Kasumi said energetically. "Don't mind us, I'm just showing a new guard around." Apparently she didn't notice the obvious family resemblance, likely due to their hair being different lengths. Kasumi turned towards Hina, still beaming. "Your primary duty will be guarding from these towers. As you saw from the schedule, you'll work one full and two partial shifts every day." Hina was looking around with wide eyes.

"Will I get to have shifts with Sayo?" She asked brightly. Sayo, who was trying to mind her own business and continue doing her job, sighed.

Kasumi seemed confused. "Umm, sometimes you might?" She responded with her head tilted. "Your shifts could overlap, but you'll be posted in different towers when they do."

"How boppin!" Hina grinned at Kasumi, who smiled back.

Kasumi walked back towards the stairs, nodding goodbye to Sayo. "I'll show you to your quarters next." She said as she moved down the steps. Hina waved at Sayo with both hands as she followed, a promise of more to come later.

And then they were gone; quiet was restored. Sayo conducted the rest of her shift in blissful silence. Hina had seemed more subdued than previously, but perhaps it was only because of Kasumi's presence.

Ten minutes later the next guard came to relieve her and Sayo headed down the stairs.

When Sayo reached the second floor, Hina was leaning against a wall near the steps. How surprising, Sayo had expected her to be off in her quarters. Sayo considered just walking past her, but as she thought earlier Hina hadn't done anything yet to warrant that level of rudeness.

As Sayo stopped front of her, Hina raised both of her arms and rushed forward. "Big Sis! I'm so glad to see you!" She wrapped her arms around Sayo's shoulders in an awkwardly tight hug, which Sayo did not return.

"Why have you come?" Sayo stepped back, breaking the embrace.

Hina was unbothered. "I was looking for you! After you left the village just wasn't boppin anymore." Despite being a year older than when they parted, she still used childish words like 'boppin'. "And I missed you." Ah, she hadn't given up the overly frank affection either.

"Well, here I am." Sayo crossed her arms. "How did you end up working here?"

Hina pulled the bow off of her back, twanging the string. "They said they were hiring archers, and money is cool, so I decided to take the job." Her grin was unfaltering, annoyingly so. "How lucky that we'll be working together!"

Sayo frowned. "Not really." She shook her head; it looked like Hina hadn't changed at all. "I better get going, good luck with your first shift." Sayo started to walk away, intent on going to get some lunch. She hadn't expected Hina to follow her.

"Thanks!" Hina trailed after her like a puppy, but less cute. "It's not until tomorrow afternoon, and I'm super nervous."

Sayo walked a little faster, reaching the stairs and descending to the first floor. Even that didn't stop her.

"You probably weren't nervous when you started, because you're so great at archery." Hina continued rambling about archery as she followed Sayo all the way to the dining hall.

"I'm going to eat, see you later." Sayo tried to dismiss her, but alas her plan backfired.

Hina's eyes lit up. "Oh, this is where we eat?" She bounded ahead and through the doors. "Let's go, I'm starving!"

Sayo sighed again, which she knew wouldn't be the last one for today. She followed after Hina now and pointed her in the direction of where the food was served. All of her friends were staring, with only Ako rude enough to gape with an open mouth. Lisa had the decency to look down at her food when Sayo glared at her.

Another sigh escaped Sayo's lips as she looked away from the staring eyes to get some lunch. Today they were serving soup. Hina waited for Sayo to go first and took the exact same things that Sayo did.

As Sayo approached table, her friends seemed to come to their senses. At least, they pretended like they hadn't been staring for the last five minutes.

"Good afternoon." Sayo greeted them normally, still praying with her last bit of hope that Hina would sit somewhere else.

Of course, she didn't.

"Hi everyone!" Hina sat down right next to Sayo, loudly introducing herself. "I'm Hina, Sayo's twin sister! It's nice to meet you!"

For a moment, nobody responded. They all looked varying degrees of confused. Finally, Yukina raised an eyebrow.

"You never mentioned a twin." She said, turning to Sayo.

Sayo already wanted to leave, but she still needed to eat. "It never came up." She replied flatly and started eating her soup.

"Didn't you say you have no siblings?" Lisa cut in annoyingly, a catlike smile on her face.

"You must be misremembering." Sayo deflected the question, even though Lisa was right she had indeed said that.

Lisa ignored Sayo, turning to Hina to introduce herself. Each one of the table members gave a brief introduction, with Yukina's being hardly five words and Ako's being more than fifty.

By the time they were done, Sayo had finished scarfing down her lunch. She stood up and picked up her bowl. "As much fun as this has been, I must be going."

"It's only been ten minutes." Lisa, again with the brutal honesty, sounded concerned now.

"Awww." Hina whined like a child. "We didn't even have long to talk."

"See you all later." Sayo looked at each person except Hina before walking away to return her bowl.

"Bye Big Sis!" Of course, Hina was the only one to call after her. The anger Sayo had been shoving down rose once again, and this time she allowed it to remain. She didn't look back as she exited the dining hall.

Though she was leaving lunch early, Sayo still headed directly to the kitchen for her afternoon duties.

The walk to the kitchen only took a few minutes, and after a glance over her shoulder to make sure Hina hadn't followed her Sayo entered the kitchen.

There was a surprise waiting her as well; six kitchen staff instead of the normal five. A girl with bright pink hair pulled back in pigtails had joined the crew. She was working with Saya on some kind of dough.

Sayo took note of her presence, but didn't ask Tsugumi for details. She was soon sent to buy some food from the market, which was a good opportunity to get out of the castle for a bit. Now that Hina was in the castle, out of it was the ideal place to be.

The trip to the market helped Sayo clear her head and forget, for a little while, about the nuisance waiting for her. By the time she returned, Saya and the pink haired girl were putting their dough in the oven.

Sayo then fetched water for the kitchen for another hour or so, thankfully not running into anyone she knew while she was moving around.

"Is everything okay today?" Tsugumi asked when Sayo was between trips. She must've picked up on something being off today.

Sayo hesitated to respond; she didn't want to unload her problems onto someone else. "Just… some annoyances today." She ended up saying. "But things are fine."

"Alright." Tsugumi seemed to accept the answer. "Just, if you ever want to talk, about anything, you can always talk to me." She looked directly into Sayo's eyes as she spoke.

Sayo's heart beat abnormally fast in her chest. "Thanks." She replied, maintaining eye contact. "I'll keep that in mind.

"Great!" Now Tsugumi was smiling broadly.

"I, uh, should keep going." Sayo lifted the bucket up a little, emphasizing that she was getting more water.

As Sayo left and went back to the well, her heart rate settled. She didn't dwell too much on it; it was probably from Hina related stress.

After a few more trips to the well, Sayo was done with her job for the day. She said goodbye to Tsugumi, still didn't ask about the new kitchen employee, and walked towards the shooting range to meet Lisa.

When Sayo exited the castle and turned towards the range, she shouldn't have been surprised to see a splash of blue hair in one of the range stalls. Lisa was right there with her, only one stall over.

Sayo's stomach churned as she approached.

Hina was shooting across the range, hitting one of the targets. Sayo watched as she released a shot, hitting dead in the center. Lisa clapped lightly at the display.

Sayo adjusted her route slightly, walking towards the stalls all the way to one end and as far from Hina as possible. Both Hina and Lisa turned to look her way, but Sayo pretended she hadn't noticed them as she took position in the last stall.

Taking note of the larger than normal breeze, Sayo began to shoot. Her arrows hit the target, with only a few making the center. Though Sayo didn't look to confirm, she was sure Hina was still hitting bullseyes on the other end. Because she always did.

"Hey, are you ready to train?" Lisa's voice to her left startled Sayo, but she didn't show it besides a miniscule flinch. When Sayo looked at her, she saw that Lisa had come to the stall next to hers and had left Hina on the other side of the range.

"Yes." Sayo responded simply, not bringing up the topic of her twin. "We'll work more on the wind today since it's stronger than usual; do you remember how to read it?"

Lisa gave back the correct answer, so Sayo nodded and started her on practicing.

They had only been working on it for about ten minutes when Hina likely got bored and decided to hop over.

"Whatcha doin'?" She asked from one more stall to Lisa's left, leaning over the barrier between them.

"Learning how to read the wind." Lisa responded with more energy than Sayo would've been able to. "Your sister's teaching me."

"Oh! Big Sis taught me too!" Hina leaned so far she looked like she could fall. "She's a great teacher."

"Knock it off Hina, you're distracting her." Sayo scolded her twin, gesturing for her to lean back off the barrier.

"When it comes to the wind, I just feel it." Hina complied with leaning back, now hanging off the barrier with both hands in the other direction. "Like, pow! You know?"

"I don't." Sayo hoped her eye wasn't twitching. "Now stop talking and let Lisa shoot."

"Fiiine." Hina released the barrier and fell back onto the ground, which blissfully meant that Sayo could no longer see her. She was quiet for a few minutes, but good things never lasted.

Soon Hina was talking again. Each time she did Sayo went back and forth with her as Lisa continued to shoot. This went on through the entire practice, even as Lisa retrieved her arrows.

By the end of archery practice, Sayo no longer wanted to give Hina the benefit of the doubt. In fact, if Hina would just pack up and leave, that would be ideal.


	22. Chapter 22

The next day Sayo had kitchen duty first thing in the morning. She hoped not to run into Hina, ideally never again, but things never went as planned.

When Sayo walked into the kitchen, there were already seven people present. Hina, in all of her irritating glory, was leaning near the new employee and waving her arms as she told some kind of story.

Why was she here? As far as Sayo knew Hina shouldn't've had ties to anyone in the kitchen, though Sayo had yet to speak with the new employee. Sayo wondered if Hina had talked to Tsugumi at all, which was, unfortunately, very likely.

"Good morning Sayo." Tsugumi greeted her brightly as she approached. "I met your sister, she's very charming." So she had talked to Tsugumi then. It was awfully early in the morning to feel so irritated, but Sayo couldn't help it.

"That's great." Sayo said sarcastically, resisting the urge to add an eye roll.

Tsugumi likely picked up on the sarcasm, but chose to ignore it. "She's already friends with Aya too, which is nice. It can be lonely starting a new job."

The pink haired girl must've been called Aya then. Sayo looked over at the pair, who were now giggling about something.

"I suppose." Sayo responded with a little less sarcasm. Hina must've heard her voice, because she spun around quickly.

"Big Sis!" She bounced over and grabbed Sayo by the hand. "Let me introduce you to Aya!" Her grip was strong, typical for someone who practiced archery, as she dragged Sayo across the kitchen. "Aya, this is my big Sis Sayo!"

"It's a pleasure to meet the person Hina was searching so hard for!" Aya had a high pitch voice, which was pleasing to the ear.

"Nice to meet you as well." Sayo reminded herself to be polite as she shook Aya's hand. "How did the two of you meet?" She made small talk appropriately, despite wanting to be as far away from Hina as possible.

"It was boppin!" Hina waved her hands excitedly. "I was west of here, looking for you, when I found Aya! She said there was a city this way, so we joined up and came here!"

"I was looking for a new job." Aya contributed at a much lower volume than Hina. "It made sense to travel together, for safety." How much had Hina harassed his girl for her to agree to that, Sayo wondered as she listened.

"Yeah, yeah!" Hina nodded fervently.

"Well, I better get to work." Sayo was tired of this conversation, specifically the part where she had to deal with Hina. "Hina, you should allow Aya to do the same."

"Yes big Sis." Hina frowned, but went along with it. "Talk to you later Aya."

At least satisfied that Hina was going to leave, Sayo walked back to Tsugumi to get her orders for the day. She was sent to get water from the well, a standard and usual task, and set off to do it.

Sayo imagined that Hina would be gone from the kitchen when she returned, but she underestimated Hina's tenacity and ability to be where she wasn't wanted or needed.

When Sayo returned Hina was leaning on a different counter, this time by Tsugumi.

Sayo felt acid in her throat as she swallowed, a new wave of irritation rising within her. She hauled the water right past Hina, taking it where it needed to go. She told Hina to let the kitchen employees work, but Tsugumi said it was no problem.

As Sayo's shift continued, Hina remained in the kitchen. She watched Tsugumi cook, chatted with Aya, followed Sayo around, failed at flirting with Saya, and generally made a fool of herself. After Sayo finished running to the storehouse to get some dried wheat, her tasks were done for the day. It had been a long and extremely irritating shift.

She bid Tsugumi farewell in as positive a manner as she could muster, and was dismayed to find Hina following her out.

"What are we doing next?" Hina asked, practically nipping at Sayo's heels.

Sayo clenched her fists at her side. "I am going to train. You should leave."

"What do you mean?" Hina still trailed behind her, sounding confused.

Sayo spun abruptly on her heel, stopping in the middle of the hallway. "You should leave the castle and go home." She said firmly and lowly. Sayo was taller than Hina and had to look down at her.

Hina gave a hearty chuckle, grating against Sayo's already frazzled nerves. "But I just got here." She grinned.

"You've been here long enough." Sayo looked her sister directly in the eye. It was past time to be nice to her. "It's time to go." She tried to stay calm, but was failing.

Hina's expression fell, a pout forming on her lips. "But, I looked for you for so long…" She paused to inhale deeply. "I can't leave now."

Sayo scoffed. "I see you still only think about yourself." Her hands, still clenched in fists, were shaking, and she forced them to relax.

"Big Sis…" Hina reached out towards her slowly, one tear appearing in the corner of her eye. She was always crying to get attention.

"Just leave me alone." Sayo turned back around and kept walking, her steps short and terse. She didn't look back until she reached the stable gate.

Hina hadn't followed.

* * *

For the next week Hina remained in the castle. Sayo saw her on guard duty, leaning too far out over the walls. She could be found in the kitchen, chatting and laughing with Aya. Sometimes she joined Sayo's table during meals, always bringing disruptive energy with her.

It seemed she had heard Sayo's request for her to leave and had just ignored it. As usual.

A whole week of periodic annoyance had made Sayo irritable, and it was with that irritation that she stood on guard one afternoon. Hina was, of course, on this shift as well.

Sayo stood in her usual tower, in the northeast, while Hina was over on the south wall. The distance didn't stop Sayo from feeling frustrated with her presence.

When Hina started waving in Sayo's direction, motioning for her to come over, Sayo didn't want to go. Hina probably just wanted to tell her about how boppin something was or how great of a shot she made that morning at the archery range.

But, and this was a big but, it could've been about their current job. If Hina saw something suspicious, Sayo shouldn't ignore her. It would be unprofessional and they were the only two guards that morning, so there was nobody else to pass it off to. Reluctantly, Sayo walked down the tower stairs and crossed the east wall towards Hina.

"Big Sis!" Hina was still gesturing for her to come closer. "I saw something moving down there!" She turned towards the edge of the wall as Sayo approached, leaning over and looking straight down.

Sayo peeked over as well, but saw only the usual trees leading up to the training field. She looked left and right and didn't see anything out of the ordinary.

"Looks normal to me." Sayo stepped back from the wall, turning towards Hina with crossed arms.

Hina frowned, still looking over the wall. "I really saw something." She insisted.

"Maybe you imagined it."

Sayo was about to turn to walk back to her post when something strange caught her eye. A speck of black appeared along the edge of the wall, about a meter behind Hina.

Before Sayo could process just what it was, a whole person, dressed entirely in black, appeared over the edge of the wall. It was a woman with silver hair, tied back in a braid. Her mouth was covered by a black mask. She quickly drew a dagger, turning towards Hina.

"Watch out!" Sayo drew her sword and lunged past Hina, deflecting the incoming dagger and causing the intruder to step back a few paces. Hina spun around, drawing her sword as well. The intruder looked between them, likely judging her odds.

Sayo wondered how the woman had climbed the wall, since she didn't seem to be carrying anything that could've been used for that. Also, why was she trying to come in via the walls?

The intruder zoomed towards Sayo with a cry of "Bushido!" and came in for a strike. Sayo sidestepped it, with Hina taking her place moments after the dagger passed and swinging towards the blade.

She was fast, the intruder, and once again retreated. There was one relief in having Hina here; despite their troubles the two of them were always able to sync up well for battle. This narrow wall made it difficult to coordinate, but so far they had the edge.

On her next strike the assailant went for Hina, who blocked the attack and grabbed her wrist to keep her there for a moment. Hina tilted her head in Sayo's direction, and she understood what she should do.

Sayo quickly sidled around the locked pair, making it behind the intruder while she was being held. A moment after she was in place, the girl brought up her free hand and was able to jump back from Hina. This put her right in range of Sayo, with her back turned.

They better take this one alive, Sayo thought as she raised the hilt of her sword, striking it into the back of the intruder's skull. She turned slightly before the blow, but wasn't fast enough to block it.

The intruder collapsed to the ground, unconscious. Sayo kicked her dagger away, just in case, and picked it up.

Hina was breathing heavily as she sheathed her sword.

"Go get Kasumi." Sayo ordered, despite not having more authority here than Hina.

With a nod, Hina was off. She practically ran back to the tower and disappeared down the stairs. While she was gone, Sayo kept her sword out. She watched the unconscious form of their assailant carefully, wary of any movements.

She had questions for this person, but knew she wouldn't get to ask them. Where did they come from? Why did they come over the wall? Who were they? What did bushido mean? Why did they try to kill Hina?

The intruder didn't stir.

About five minutes passed before Hina returned. She appeared from the tower with Kasumi in tow, who was followed by a couple other guards.

The other guards quickly tied the arms of the intruder, taking her into custody.

"Put her in the cells." Kasumi instructed, and one of the guards had to carry the intruder into the castle. Once they were gone, Kasumi turned to Sayo and Hina. "Great job you two!" She beamed; Hina must've filled her in on the way. "Especially you Hina! It's amazing that you were able to spot her before she climbed up."

Ah yes, even though Sayo saved Hina's life, Hina still received all the praise.

"Keep up the good work, both of you." Kasumi shook both of their hands vigorously. "Whoever sent her won't be trying this stunt again, not with the two of you on guard!"

Kasumi bid them farewell, saying she was going to make sure the intruder was properly imprisoned, before leaving Sayo and Hina alone to continue guarding.

Though this guard shift had been exciting, Sayo was relieved to return to her tower. She was also frustrated, both with Hina and herself. Somehow, despite Sayo having worked here for almost two months longer, Hina was receiving more recognition than she ever would.

Sayo stewed on that thought for the remainder of her shift, unable to shake the feelings of bitterness even as the adrenaline faded.

When her shift was done, she exited the tower. Since Hina worked during the overlaps, there wasn't a guard to replace Sayo. Knowing that Hina would be on the roof for another hour was a relief as Sayo descended to the second floor.

Moca leaned against the wall at the end of the steps, apparently waiting for someone. The only one it could be was Sayo. "Hey." Moca said, sounding more serious than usual.

Sayo wondered if something was wrong, or if they had learned something important from the intruder. "What is it?" She asked, stopping at the bottom of the stairs.

"Ran wants to see you." Moca said cryptically.

Sayo nodded and started walking towards the set of stairs that would take her to the first floor. Moca followed behind her. At first, Sayo thought it could be a coincidence, but when they reached the first floor and both went to the same wing of the castle, she knew it wasn't.

"You've been summoned too?" Sayo asked wryly as she turned into the hallway where the offices were.

Moca sounded smug. "Mayyybe." She droned. When Sayo glanced back she was smirking. She wondered again just what Moca did in the castle.

They soon arrived at Ran's office, and when Sayo knocked Ran called for her to enter. She walked in with Moca following close behind, who shut the door behind them, humming lightly under her breath.

"Thanks for bringing her." Ran addressed Moca over Sayo, probably thanking her for finding her. Next, Ran turned to Sayo. "Good work catching that intruder. We knew to expect something, but not this soon."

"Thank you." Sayo accepted the complement, glad to be recognized for her effort. Interesting that they had been expecting an intrusion, but didn't mention it to the guard staff. Sayo had been on high alert since Yukina brought up the idea few days ago, but still it seemed odd.

"Have you seen any other suspicious events or people lately?" Ran asked.

As Sayo thought about her response, Moca passed by her in order to stand near Ran's desk. Sayo hadn't seen anything suspicious except for perhaps the hiring practices of the castle. Why would they want to hire Hina anyway? She was about to relay the first part of that thought, when a horrible idea passed through her mind. It she told them that Hina was suspicious, then Hina would likely be expelled from the castle.

That was what Sayo wanted, but even as she pondered the idea she knew it was an awful one. That would be crossing the line, moving past arguing and towards malicious intent.

"I haven't seen anything." Sayo responded to the question evenly, keeping her eyes on Ran's. "I will let you know if anything comes up."

"Thank you." Ran nodded. "You are free to go."

Sayo bid both of the castle staff farewell before leaving them alone in the office.

She walked towards the dining hall for lunch, full of a different kind of loathing than before. Sayo had really considered throwing Hina under the bus, what a terrible person she was. Her twin sister, her own blood, she was going to betray her. As bad as Hina was, she never did anything like this.

Sayo's stomach churned and she thought she might throw up.

* * *

End Note: I think all 25 characters are here now.


	23. Chapter 23

In the morning, Sayo went about her duties as she normally did. However, she barely talked to anyone. She shared only a few brusque words with Tsugumi in the kitchen and brushed right past Ako when she saw her in passing.

After what happened with Hina the day before, it felt like she was trapped in her own head. She couldn't stop thinking about how Hina had just shown up, interfered with her life, and driven her quickly towards madness. She had always disliked Hina, but now the girl was even causing her to do worse and worse things.

In that state it was hard to listen to other's responses, let alone respond.

Though each motion and conversation were done through a haze, Sayo was still able to do her job. She fetched supplies for the kitchen, perhaps a tad bit slower than usual but it was fine.

When Sayo was finished with the tasks, Tsugumi was baking some kind of puff pastry. Even just as dough it looked delicious.

Sayo didn't stay to watch.

She left with barely a word, going to the one place that was always stable, that never let her down; the archery range.

With the mood she was in Sayo would've preferred to be alone at the archery range, but Lisa was already there. After all, they had planned to train together for that day. She greeted Sayo warmly, but the sentiment was hard to reciprocate.

Regardless of how she felt that day, Sayo was still committed to training Lisa in archery. The two made halfhearted small talk while Sayo tried to decide what they would work on today. At least, Sayo had trouble mustering the conversation.

She paused to think carefully about what they would practice, and a long moment of silence passed; Lisa looked concerned.

For some reason, Sayo was drawing a blank. What should she have Lisa work on today? She had no idea. There was still so much for Lisa to work on, of course, since her archery was nowhere near perfect yet. But when Sayo had to pick something to do, she just couldn't think of anything. She couldn't tell that to Lisa, who looked at her so expectantly.

How could she let Lisa down like this? The bitter thought that maybe Hina would be a better archery teacher than her too passed through her mind, a chill running down her spine.

"Are you feeling okay?" Lisa had stepped closer, raising one hand to Sayo's forehead. This was likely in response to the blank staring Sayo just did. "Do you have a fever?"

Sayo stepped back, avoiding the touch. "No, I'm sorry…" Her voice trailed off, but she brought it back up. "I think I'm just tired today. Do you mind continuing your lessons next time?" She didn't really want to cancel their session, but she couldn't think straight at all. Maybe next time she'd feel better, would be able to focus on something other than Hina and her own mistakes.

Lisa brought her hand down, offering a half smile. "That's fine, it's good to practice on my own too." She nodded reassuringly a couple times.

"I'll be over there if you need me." Sayo gestured a few stalls down, offering her assistance even though she probably wouldn't be able to provide any in her current state.

Lisa nodded in response and stayed in the stall she started in as Sayo walked away to choose one. She went farther down than she initially intended to, zoning out a little as she walked. Finally, she picked a spot.

Sayo stood in the stall for a few minutes, calming herself in order to shoot. She had to gather herself, to regain control.

Once settled, Sayo drew her bow and took aim down the field. She didn't check to see if Lisa was doing the same.

Sayo notched an arrow, took aim, and fired.

It missed the target.

For a second Sayo could only stare in disbelief. The arrow had flown straight past the target, not even nicking it. Sayo had to stop her hands from shaking as she notched another arrow and took aim again.

Another miss.

She risked a glance to the left and was surprised to see that Lisa had left. That was the only positive in this, she supposed. Lisa didn't see her shoot so embarrassingly bad.

Sayo took a deep breath to try and calm herself, again notching an arrow. She took note of the wind, calculated for drop off, looked closely at her aim, and then fired.

Disgustingly, it missed to the opposite side.

Three in a row, all misses. How could this be happening? Wasn't archery the one skill she learned separate from Hina, the thing that wouldn't disappoint her, her one safe haven? Sayo's hands started to shake as she lined up a shot to try again. It missed.

Again,

And again,

The shots missed.

Soon Sayo was out of arrows, trembling fingers grasping desperately for something that wasn't there. She was breathing far more heavily than usual, shuddering on each inhale. Don't cry, she told herself, you can't cry, not like her.

A set of footsteps interrupted her thoughts, and Sayo did her best to gather herself and face whoever was approaching.

"Lisa was worried." Yukina walked towards her slowly, eyes flicking over Sayo's red face, empty quiver, and blank target in the distance.

Sayo inhaled deeply, one last attempt at composure. "Everything's fine." She insisted, opening the stall door to go retrieve her arrows. "Excuse me."

Yukina didn't take the blatant hint, following Sayo out into the field. She trailed after her all the way to the target, even picking up an arrow and offering it back to Sayo. When Sayo reached to take if from her, she found that Yukina wouldn't relinquish the object.

"Is this about your sister?" Golden eyes, far softer than usual, expressed care that Yukina's tone didn't carry.

Sayo tried to pull the arrow away, but the knight held tight. "I've got it under control." She pulled harder, but Yukina didn't budge.

"Tell me about her." The knight insisted.

Maybe, just maybe, talking to someone about Hina could help. Sayo never even told her friends that she had a twin, let alone that their relationship was so strained.

"Fine." Sayo gave in. "Just give me this arrow back."

"After." With a small tug Yukina removed it from Sayo's grasp, astonishingly easily. "Let's talk at a safer spot."

A minute later Sayo had retrieved all of her arrows and the pair walked back to the stalls. Once they were safely back on the outside of the range, Sayo collapsed to sit on the grass inside the stall. She leaned against the wood divider, staring straight ahead as she prepared to start her story. Yukina took a seat across from her, listening closely.

"Hina and I have always competed, and as far back as I can remember she has always won." Sayo shifted her eyes up as she spoke, not watching to see how Yukina was reacting. "Schoolwork, swordsmanship, she was better than me at everything. She still is." A sigh. "The one thing I had that she didn't was archery. I picked it up to be different, to branch out. And then she wanted to learn, and she mastered it." Sayo turned her head to the left, towards the corner of the stall. "It has been incredibly frustrating, having her here this last week." Sayo looked back at Yukina, meeting her eyes.

"That sounds difficult." Yukina was frowning. "Have you tried talking to her about it."

"I did when we were younger." Sayo sighed again, bringing her eyes back to Yukina's. "But it never worked."

"Hmm." Yukina brought one hand to her chin thoughtfully. "I don't have any siblings, so I can't say for sure, but confronting your problems is the only way to resolve them." She gestured towards the shooting range. "Bottling things up doesn't seem to be working."

"Perhaps you're right." Sayo mused, not knowing where she would even start with that task. How could she begin to tackle this? "Thank you Yukina."

The knight's eyes widened at being thanked. "Any time." She rose to her feet, brushing the grass of her pants. "Don't make Lisa worry again." She offered the stolen arrow back to Sayo

"I won't." Sayo rose as well, feeling slightly better than before and almost able to muster a chuckle as she accepted her property back.

"See you later." Yukina said, walking back towards the castle.

Sayo turned back to the range, notching the arrow Yukina returned to her.

She took a deep breath and fired. It didn't hit in the center, but it still hit the target.

That was good enough for now.


	24. Chapter 24

The morning breeze ruffled Sayo's hair, sending a chill down her spine. She was on morning guard duty, stationed in her usual tower with a guard that thankfully wasn't Hina.

She had thought long and hard about what Yukina said the day before, but wasn't sure what she could actually do about any of this. No matter what she said, Hina would always be better than her, always intruding on her space, always taking without a care. Hina wasn't capable of understanding her.

Though Sayo was thinking, she was still doing her job and keeping an eye and ear out for trouble. When she heard footsteps rising up the tower steps, she turned towards them to see who was coming.

Of all people she thought would come see her, she hadn't expected Lisa. Yesterday had been embarrassing, between canceling their practice, shooting absolutely terribly and Yukina coming to talk to her. Without a doubt word of that discussion had reached Lisa, it had been with Yukina after all, so perhaps she had come to cut off ties with Sayo due to her abysmal attitude and performance. Sayo knew that was unlikely, but still couldn't shake the thought.

"Good morning Sayo!" Lisa called out a greeting as she climbed the last few steps. She was dressed casually and was unarmed.

Sayo replied politely. "Good morning." She glanced past Lisa to see if anyone had come with her, wondering if there was any other reason for this visit, but it appeared the knight had climbed the tower alone.

"I wanted to check in." Lisa walked towards Sayo and then past her, leaning over the side of the tower and looking into the distance. "How are you today? Are you okay for shield training?" She said these words casually, as if it was normal to climb three flights of stairs to ask them.

Sayo inhaled sharply. Lisa still wanted to train with her? "I'm okay." Sayo exhaled slowly, gathering her thoughts and forcing the doubts from her mind. Lisa had really come all this way to check on her. "Absolutely, I'll be there after my kitchen duties are complete."

"Excellent!" Lisa turned away from the wall and straightened up, flashing a warm smile Sayo's way. "Glad to see you're doing better." She said quietly as she walked by Sayo, brushing her hand over one of Sayo's shoulder in passing. "See you later."

Sayo bid her farewell as Lisa vanished back down the stairs, only having been there a few minutes.

Once she was gone, Sayo took the spot where Lisa had been standing. She looked out over the city, contemplating what had just happened.

She was looking forward to shield training that afternoon.

Soon Sayo's shift came to an end and she was relieved from duty. Her day had blissfully been without Hina so far, but that was about to change.

When Sayo arrived at the dining hall, Hina was already sitting with her friends. All eyes were on her a she seemed to be telling some kind of story. Sayo wanted to leave, but she was hungry. She grabbed some food and joined them, coming into the middle of the story.

"And then I lunged at it, but it was too fast!" Hina looked between the table members as she spoke, gesturing animatedly with her arms. For some reason, Yukina flinched at the statement. "I saw it again this morning, but it climbed the wall so fast I could barely see it." This time Yukina nodded firmly, and Sayo maybe understood what they were talking about. "Oh, hey big Sis!" Hina seemed to notice Sayo's arrival in that moment. "I was just telling everyone about a cat I saw in the castle, have you seen it?"

Yukina's fierce stare told Sayo exactly what her answer should be. "No, I haven't. Where did you spot it?" She flipped the question back, leading to Hina starting in on her story once again. Apparently Yukina's stray cat had been running around the castle with Hina hot on its trail.

Sayo listened, but didn't contribute to the conversation. Yukina's reactions to each turn in the story were hilarious to watch, so for once Sayo didn't tell Hina to stop talking so much.

Listening to Hina talk like this only made Sayo feel even more guilty about her previous behavior; she'd really been treating Hina awfully. Yes, her sister was intrusive and annoying, but Sayo had almost done something much worse. Sayo's heart grew heavier with each passing minute.

Lunch passed by in due time, with Sayo soon off to the kitchen for her afternoon work.

Tsugumi was baking today; Sayo wasn't sure what it was. She greeted Sayo with a smile, even though Sayo had been short with her the day before. She couldn't help but return that smile as Tsugumi gave her directions for the day.

The task today was simple, fetch a whole list of supplies from storage. Sayo soon set out to do it, barely making small talk between runs. Her mind churned the whole time, turning over her experience during lunch with what she'd talked about with Yukina about the day before.

With a busy mind, the time passed fast. Sayo finished all of the runs relatively quickly and went back to ask Tsugumi for an additional task.

"That's all for today." Tsugumi said as she mixed the dough she was making. "You did well today!" She commented with a smile.

"Thanks." Sayo hoped it was intended as a complement and responded as such. "I have a lot on my mind today, makes the time go by faster." What an understatement, she wanted to rub her forehead in frustration.

Sayo remembered, in that moment, that a few days before Tsugumi had offered to listen. Talking to Yukina about Hina had helped, so Sayo wondered if talking to Tsugumi might help further. She had offered after all. Not to mention how comfortable Sayo felt talking to her, how safe it felt to be in this kitchen. What was the worst thing that could happen, she'd say no?

"I see." Tsugumi was frowning now, but only slightly, as she stirred her dough.

"Do you, umm." Sayo felt a flush rise to her cheeks as she tried to form the question. "Do you mind if I tell you about it?"

That beautiful, wonderful smile returned in full force. "Of course you can!" Tsugumi stepped to her right, patting the counter to her left. "Come join me in rolling these cookies, and I'll listen." Oh, so they were cookies.

Sayo's heart swelled as she stepped into place, accepting a rolling pin from Tsugumi. "Thank you." She cleared her throat as Tsugumi scooped some of the dough in front of her.

Sayo took a deep breath, gathering herself, and then began. "I've been thinking about Hina. How I've always fought to escape her shadow. How she's better than everything, even the archery that I taught her." Sayo brought the rolling pin down firmly, looking straight down at the dough. "And how awfully I've treated her since she arrived here. I almost turned her in as a spy, which of course she isn't." Sayo rolled the pin roughly over the dough, flattening it intently. "She clearly just wants to spend time with me, and yet I rebuke her at every turn. I'm a terrible sister." She chuckled hollowly, hands once again shaking minutely. "I know that, and yet I'm still jealous…"

One of Tsugumi's hands laid itself gently over Sayo's right one, warm and welcome. "It's okay, Sayo." Sayo turned her head towards Tsugumi, whose face was set in a determined expression. "You are an amazing archer and wonderful person, you don't have to compare yourself to your sister." Tsugumi leaned in closer. "Everyone makes mistakes, but so long as we learn from them they are worth making." Her other hand came around, joining the first. "I like you the way you are."

Sayo could barely breathe. Tsugumi was so close, too close. "I…" Sayo tried to muster words. She could feel the warmth returning to her cheeks.

As if suddenly realizing how much she was intruding on Sayo's personal space, Tsugumi's eyes widened and she stepped back, releasing Sayo's hand. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said so much." Her cheeks were dusted pink. "I get way too passionate about these things." She gave a half hearted chuckle, turning back to her bowl of dough.

"It's alright, I appreciate it." Sayo said once she could find the words, resuming rolling the portion of dough she had.

For moment Tsugumi didn't respond.

"Thank you." The words were quiet, so quiet that Sayo could barely hear them.

They continued making the cookies in silence, rolling the dough and cutting shapes. As they baked, Sayo resumed thinking. These weren't the same thoughts as earlier, now there was another piece added to the mix.

Though Sayo hadn't admitted it directly, she had been worried that Hina would edge her out of her new home. That Hina would slip into the space filled by Sayo and just take, like she always did. That hadn't turned out to be the case.

Sayo had a home here, and friends who accepted her. She had friends who listened to her problems and gave her advice, who checked on her when things were bad, who valued her presence and liked her for who she was. Hina's presence hadn't changed that.

Maybe she should actually let things with Hina end, maybe she should move on.

The cookies, as always, turned out delicious.


	25. Chapter 25

That afternoon Sayo had shield practice with Lisa. She felt more light hearted than she had in a while, and thus was able to be productive in practice. They worked on parrying, which was an incredibly difficult skill to master. It required precise timing and motion to get right.

Sayo didn't even come close in one session, but she learned the basics.

She was walking back to her quarters to put her practice weapons away when she passed by Hina. Her twin was loitering near the bottom of the stairs, looking around for something. When her eyes landed on Sayo, they lit up. Alas, she must've been waiting for her.

"Big Sis!" Hina called out, jogging to meet Sayo midway. When she spoke again it was at a normal volume, which was subdued for her. "Do you have a few minutes, I need to talk to you about something." She wasn't smiling for once, her expression set in a more neutral place and lips drawn in a line.

"I suppose." Though Sayo was sweaty from practice, she didn't have to be anywhere for a while yet. She had thought earlier about changing things with Hina, perhaps this was her chance.

A hint of a smile appeared on Hina's lips. "Great!" She still managed exuberance even when somber. "There's a room I scouted out over there." With one thumb over her shoulder, she pointed behind her.

Hina spun around in a clumsy turn, one she would usually complete smoothly, walking in the direction she indicated. Sayo followed her down the hall and into an unmarked room.

Once they entered, Hina shut the door behind them. The room only had a table and some chairs; it was likely a meeting space of some kind. The sisters remained standing.

"I've been thinking." Hina started talking, frowning uncharacteristically. She didn't think much either, Sayo thought uncharitably. "And I want to apologize."

This was a surprise. "Really?" Sayo asked, not sure if she could believe it.

"Yes." Hina nodded as she spoke. "I'm not exactly sure what I'm apologizing for, but I'm not completely stupid. I know my presence here is bothering you." Sayo could only breathe and watch. "I don't want to make your life harder, so I've decided something." Hina took a deep breath, seeming to gather herself. A tear appeared in the corner of her eye and she wiped it away. Still Sayo said nothing. "If you still want me to leave, just tell me and I'll go."

She was offering… to leave? That was what Sayo so desperately wanted before, but now she wasn't so sure. Had Hina even changed anything about Sayo's life in this castle, her relationships here? Sayo was the one who brooded and cut people off, the one who pushed people away. She made those mistakes, not Hina.

She always blamed Hina for her problems, but it was time to take responsibility and make a change.

Her friends accepted her for who she was and had given her some great advice. She had to be brave enough to follow through. To stop hating and, at the very least, accept her sister.

It was going to be difficult and she still could slip along the way, but if she didn't try she might as well leave the castle since she'd never be able to face Tsugumi again.

"I won't do that." Sayo shook her head once. "You can stay. I should apologize too, I've treated you awfully since you arrived." It hurt to apologize to Hina, but Sayo knew she owed it to her.

"That's okay!" Hina leapt forward, a toothy grin on her face, and engulfed Sayo in a hug. Sayo returned it gingerly, pushing down the twinge of annoyance. "This is so boppin!"

"Well, it could be nice." Sayo gently pried Hina off her, pushing her back to arm's length. "You have to stop chasing that cat though, understood."

Hina laughed, an open and honest sound. "Sure, as long as it doesn't mess with me!" She lifted one hand to pantomime a cat scratching motion.

That was close enough. "Good." Sayo released her grip in Hina's arms, stepping back to a normal conversation distance. "I don't think you ever told me, what have you been up to for the last year?"

Hina leapt on the opportunity, immediately starting the tale of how she decided to leave home. Sayo listened to her story, which was followed by another and then another. Sure, she felt annoyed at how much Hina talked, but she didn't want to be angry any longer.

She took the first step towards fixing things, towards not hating her twin sister. Now it was time to take the second.

* * *

Omake:

People didn't visit the kitchen very often. Sometimes Tomoe stopped by to sample different treats and talk with Saya, while Moca would visit to poke fun at Tsugumi. Sayo came by every day to work, but she could hardly be counted as a visitor.

That was why the arrival of a young woman with shoulder length blue hair was a surprise. She came early in the morning, before many of the castle residents were awake. The new hire, a bright girl named Aya, seemed to know her, since she went over to greet her. They shared a few words before coming towards Tsugumi.

"Tsugumi, this is Hina." Aya introduced the girl, who on closer inspection looked strikingly similar to Sayo. "We traveled together for a while."

"It's so nice to meet you!" Hina grinned brightly. "That's right, Aya and I traveled together. I'm also Sayo's sister!"

Sayo's sister? Had Sayo ever mentioned having a sister? Tsugumi couldn't remember that occurring. She knew Sayo was from far away and thought she didn't have any family nearby.

"That's nice, I know Sayo." Tsugumi returned the smile. "She helps out here."

"Isn't she great!?" If it was possible, Hina lit up even brighter. "Big Sis is so boppin at everything, she's probably great at cooking too!"

"She's a fast learner." Tsugumi didn't mention the many baking mishaps Sayo had suffered. "And a hard worker."

"Of course she is!" Hina puffed out her chest as if she was the one complemented. "Big Sis is the best, don't you agree?"

Tsugumi hesitated at that, only because it was a leading question. "I agree." She said softly, casting her eyes down towards her feet. Not only was Sayo helpful in the kitchen, she was good at fighting too. She carried herself with confidence and made everyone in the castle feel safer.

She did way more than Tsugumi did, that was for sure.

Tsugumi pat her own cheeks to break that thought. She looked at Hina again, noting how her eyes were the exact same shade of green as Sayo's.

Outside of their appearance, they seemed to be nothing alike.

* * *

End Arc 3


	26. Chapter 26

A week passed, with Sayo's routine, plus Hina, continuing. She baked with Tsugumi, trained with Lisa, and carried out guard duties. With the increased number of guards on staff, things were relatively calm.

One day, that routine was disrupted.

Sayo had been on her way to the towers for morning guard duty when she was stopped by Tae and sent to the guard headquarters. At first Sayo thought she was the only one summoned, but as she neared the headquarters, she saw that all of the guards seemed to have been gathered.

Sayo had to squeeze past someone she didn't know to get inside, moving towards Hina who waved her over.

"Good morning big Sis!" Hina greeted her loudly and enthusiastically. "Do you know what's going on?" She asked, head swiveling as she looked around the room.

"I was going to ask you the same thing." Sayo replied with a frown. She glanced around, recognizing most of the guards present. It appeared that everyone except for the guards currently on duty were being gathered.

The room was not meant to hold this many people, so as more arrived it became quite crowded. Sayo was smushed up against a couple different people, including Hina, as she waited for whatever was happening to start.

She only had to wait about ten minutes before Kasumi pushed her way into the room. She hopped up onto the table, so Sayo could see her above the crowd.

"Attention please." Kasumi called over the tightly packed group. Some hadn't made it into the room and had to watch from the hallway. "Can I get your attention up here please!" The guards stopped talking, turning as best they could towards their captain. Sayo was mostly turned the right way, but couldn't fully get her shoulders there without digging an elbow into someone else's side.

"As some of you might already know, we had an intruder come over the castle walls last week." This statement was followed by muttering amongst the guards, with Kasumi having to call again for their attention. "The incident was handled quickly and efficiently. There have been no other breaches." Kasumi looked out over her guards, eyes pausing on Sayo as she scanned the crowd. "That being said, remain vigilant! If there are any problems or signs of anything suspicious, make sure to report them immediately." Kasumi looked around at the nods of affirmation. "You are dismissed." She said, with the room immediately breaking out in chatter.

It took Sayo a few minutes to squeeze out, followed closely by Hina. They both had guard duty starting soon and walked towards the tower stairs together.

"Do you think something else happened? Besides the intruder?" Hina asked as she walked unevenly next to Sayo, her tone distinctly worried.

Sayo was concerned too. "I'm not sure." She admitted, resisting the urge to correct Hina's posture. She remembered Yukina's warning from just a couple weeks before. "Stay alert, who knows what's coming."

"I will!" When they reached the steps, Hina took them two at a time. She split from Sayo at the top, heading to the south side of the walls to keep watch there. Sayo stayed in the north, pacing between the two towers. She knew she should stop and look out for a while, but she couldn't stop herself from wanting to move.

Sayo was worried; she couldn't help it. This was her home, and if something happened to it, she didn't know what she'd do.

* * *

The next morning Sayo reported to the kitchen. She fetched water and made a run to the market as her tasks or the day. Once those jobs were done, Tsugumi invited her once again to assist with baking. It had become a sort of tradition; whenever Tsugumi was making pastries she invited Sayo to join her.

Today Tsugumi was making cakes. She entrusted one set of batter to Sayo, while working on the other batches herself. They moved through the recipe at the same time, with Tsugumi showing Sayo what each step entailed.

Sayo followed along carefully, making sure to measure correctly and add the ingredients in the right order. She almost finished all of the steps without requiring instruction beyond which ingredients to use, which was a vast improvement. She even cracked the eggs without getting any shells in the mix.

While Sayo was stirring the batter, Tsugumi approached her right side. "You should hold the spoon at a higher angle, for batter like this it'll help make sure it all gets mixed in." She gently lifted Sayo's hand up, adjusting the angle of her spoon in the batter. It reminded Sayo of when Lisa would adjust the angle of her sword or how high she was holding her shield, except with one key difference.

Sayo's heart felt like it was going to beat out of her chest, jumping rapidly as Tsugumi barely touched her. That never had happened with Lisa. It was an odd sensation, one she ignored as she allowed Tsugumi to adjust her hand.

"Good!" Tsugumi released her with a smile, taking a step back. "You've improved so much, I'm proud."

"Only because I had an amazing teacher." Sayo's cheeks felt warm as she replied and resumed stirring her batter. She took care to keep the spoon at the angle Tsugumi set her at.

"Nonsense." Tsugumi looked down towards her feet, voice quiet, pink dusting her face. "This is all you." She said brought her voice back up for the last part.

"We'll see how it turns out." Sayo looked back at her bowl, making note of how the bits of flour that previously hadn't mixed in were now gone. "Do you think it's almost ready?" She asked, tilting the bowl towards Tsugumi.

Tsugumi stepped back in, examining the batter closely. "Almost." She said, looking up at Sayo. "A few more stirs and it'll be there."

"Thank you." Sayo said with a nod, resuming mixing her bowl.

She stirred it for a couple more minutes before getting a rectangular pan. She poured the batter in, making sure it was level on top. She took it over to Tsugumi to give it to her since, unfortunately, the cakes would take an hour to bake. This meant that Sayo wouldn't be able to stay until hers was done.

"Good job Sayo, I'll let you know how it turns out." Tsugumi said as she accepted the pan from Sayo. Their hands were nowhere near touching as Sayo handed her the pan, but still Sayo's heart jumped in her chest.

Sayo thanked her again, for both letting her help and the cooking lessons, before heading off to train. She was scheduled to work with Lisa today on her shield abilities, which she felt like she was making steady progress in.

She brought the wood sword and shield as usual, ready to learn. Lisa was already there waiting for her, likely due to the extra time Sayo spend baking a cake that morning. Lisa was running through forms, so hopefully she wasn't upset with Sayo's tardiness. It was chilly again that day, heralding the coming of winter.

"Sorry I'm late." Sayo said as she approached, getting Lisa's attention.

"That's okay!" Lisa was chipper as usual, stopping her forms to walk towards Sayo. "It's good to practice drills too, keeps me from getting rusty."

Sayo nodded, agreeing with the statement. "Absolutely." She put her shield onto her arm, getting ready for practice. "What are we working on today?"

"I was thinking we would spar today. That way we can see what still needs work." Lisa had one hand raised to her chin thoughtfully.

"Sounds good." Sayo drew her sword as well, walking towards the open part of the field. "Swords and shields?" She called back the question to Lisa.

"Yeah!" Lisa had followed her at a distance, taking position about three meters away. "The goal will be to disarm, either the sword or the shield will do."

"Understood." Sayo raised her weapons to the ready position, remembering her proper stance.

"Begin!" Lisa called out, starting the spar. Sayo rushed forward, trying to get the first strike. She brought her sword in an uppercut, aiming to knock Lisa's shield off her arm. Lisa dodged back, her own sword deflecting Sayo's to the side. Sayo felt the weapon tug at her grip, but managed to hang on.

She was forced to raise her shield quickly as Lisa came back with a counterstrike, the blow reverberating through her arm. Another strike came quickly and Sayo took a step back to diminish the blow. Sayo quickly brought her sword around for a counter swing, but Lisa was too fast and ducked under it, moving forward into Sayo's guard and knocking the sword right out of her hand.

Round one: Lisa. Sayo knew it was silly to keep score; all of the rounds would probably go to Lisa. She had lasted a while though and put up a better fight than last time they sparred.

"Again?" Sayo asked as she picked her sword up off the ground, wiping the sweat from the hilt.

"Again." Lisa affirmed, raising her wood blade in challenge.

By the time they finished practicing, the final score was nine for Lisa and one for Sayo. She saw an opening in one of the middle matches and took it, coming to a single surprising victory. Sayo wasn't able to repeat the performance and went back to losing every match soon after.

They were both out of breath, sweaty, and very hungry. Luckily their next stop was the dining hall for lunch. Sayo decided to bring her wood sword and shield; she could just put them away after.

She had a few questions she wanted to ask Lisa, so she walked with her from the field towards the castle.

"I was wondering." Sayo had been thinking about this since the guard meeting the day before, but wasn't sure how to ask the question. "Has this castle been attacked before?" The pair were walking side by side and entered the castle through the stable gate.

"Umm." Lisa tilted her head as she thought about her response. "Not since before I became a knight." She said, eyebrows scrunched up in thought. "I think the last attack was before I was born, actually."

So that meant they didn't have many enemies, or at least no enemies that had recently attacked. This was a relief for Sayo to hear. "That's interesting." She replied simply.

"Circle is a pretty peaceful place." Lisa said with a shrug.

The pair continued to make small talk as they reached the dining hall, with most of the talking being done by Lisa. They were the first of the group to arrive and got their food before claiming a table.

The others soon followed. Yukina appeared almost immediately, snagging her spot by Lisa's side. They seemed to think that nobody could see them holding hands under the table, but it was obvious. Ako and Rinko arrived a few minutes later, engrossed in a conversation about the properties of one of the herbs Rinko was growing.

Yukina, despite not having been part of the earlier conversation, also seemed worried about an attack. "Have they said anything new to the guards?" She asked Sayo, expression set in a frown.

"Just to stay vigilant." Sayo responded in hushed tones. "That intruder created a lot of tension."

Yukina nodded. "I agree." She muttered, trailing off and poking at her food.

"I heard it has something to do with the princess." Ako leaned in, loudly interrupting the conversation.

Yukina's golden eyes flared. "Hush, you mustn't speak of such things." She said lowly, glaring daggers at Ako.

"Oh…" Ako shrunk back, a sheepish grin on her face. "Sorry Yukina." Rinko pat her sympathetically on the shoulder.

"I'm sure everything will be fine." Lisa lifted hands in a pacifying gesture. "No need to bite at each other's throats." This was directed at Yukina, who had decency to at least look admonished.

Though Lisa tried to calm things down, Sayo was still worried. One intruder could easily be followed by more, or even a full-scale attack.

She had just found this place only a couple months before, to see it attacked would be the worst possible scenario.

She tried not to worry, really, she did. Whatever happened, she was prepared to defend the castle.


	27. Chapter 27

The next afternoon, after a tense morning guard shift looking out for danger and a quiet lunch, Sayo found herself back in the kitchen.

She had run back and forth to the well, fetching water for most of her time that day. Once the kitchen had enough water, she purchased some vegetables from the market, which was her last task for the day.

After that, Sayo found herself watching Tsugumi make a vegetable soup. She used the vegetables Sayo bought, first washing them, chopping them, and then adding them to a boiling mixture. Sayo watched every move, every masterful flick of the knife and twist of the wrist.

"Hey, Sayo." Saya interrupted her thoughts, drawing Sayo's attention away from the master chef in the room. "Have you heard anything about the increase in castle defense?" She asked an odd question for someone who worked in the kitchen.

"Only that it's increasing." Sayo replied, frowning. "Nothing other than that." She didn't mention the rumor Ako brought up the day before, regarding the princess. Based on Yukina's reaction it wouldn't be appropriate to spread it.

"If they come, I'll protect this place." Saya adjusted her grip on the kitchen knife she held to a combat ready one as she brandished it in front of herself, a second surprise that day from her.

Tsugumi sighed, not looking up from her soup. "I'd be useless I'm afraid." She muttered so quietly that Sayo almost missed it, expression hard to read from where Sayo stood.

"What do you mean?" Sayo asked for clarification.

"I'm almost useless around the castle. If an attack came, I couldn't help at all." Tsugumi still looked down at her soup, stirring it slowly.

"That's not true." Sayo stepped closer to Tsugumi, the conversation she just had with Saya already slipping from her mind. "You almost always have a knife."

Tsugumi looked towards Sayo and smiled halfheartedly, in a way that stopped with only a quirk of the lips. "I wouldn't know how to use one." She spoke only a little louder than before, eyes now staring somewhere past Sayo's shoulder.

"I'm not great with a knife myself." Sayo admitted, taking one more step towards Tsugumi's work station and hoping she wasn't about to regret this decision. "But I could teach you the basics, if you'd like?" It would finally be payment for the cooking lessons, if she agreed. Sayo didn't add that part, certain that Tsugumi wouldn't appreciate hearing it.

Tsugumi inhaled sharply, her eyes finally meeting Sayo's. Her smile broadened noticeably, reaching her eyes for the first time that day. "Really?" Tsugumi asked, putting down her spoon to fully turn towards Sayo.

"Yes, really." Sayo nodded, her cheeks warming at the response she'd received. She hadn't expected Tsugumi to say yes, after all she was not a fighter and Sayo hadn't exactly sold her knife fighting skills well.

"It would be great to spend time with you!" Tsugumi almost seemed to glow. "Let's do it, hmm." She thought for a moment. "Does tomorrow evening work?"

Sayo didn't do much in the evenings besides train, so any of them would've worked. She didn't say that part to Tsugumi. "Yes, that sounds good." Sayo nodded.

"I get off an hour after dinner ends, want to meet at the training field?" Tsugumi set the specifics, which all worked for Sayo.

With those plans made, it was time for Sayo to head out for archery. She felt a bit giddy during her walk over, for some reason unreasonably excited to teach Tsugumi how to wield a knife. That shouldn't be something to get excited about, but Sayo couldn't suppress the feeling.

Lisa was already at the archery range when Sayo arrived and was shooting at one of the targets. She had improved vastly since Sayo started working with her, but still had a few specific skills that needed work.

Sayo walked up to the stall next to hers, greeting her normally. Lisa returned the greeting and the pair got started.

Today they worked on using high arches to hit concealed targets. That was to say, Lisa pretended that there was a wall in front of the target and had to shoot over that invisible wall. This was a difficult shot to master, but had many useful functions.

Sayo demonstrated and explained the angles, with Lisa following after her. They took turns shooting until Lisa had the basic idea, after which Sayo only watched. Lisa's shots grew closer and closer to the target until she started hitting it consistently.

Soon she was out of arrows, so the pair walked out to gather the ones she'd fired. As they picked up the arrows, Lisa brought up an interesting topic.

"I won't be able to practice for a while." Lisa said as she stowed a few arrows in her quiver. "I'm being sent on an envoy tomorrow that will be for at least the next week." Her expression was neutral, which for Lisa meant she wasn't pleased about it.

"Where to?" Sayo asked, handing Lisa one of the arrows she picked up.

"Pastel again." Lisa replied. "With a larger group than last time."

Sayo narrowed her eyes. She hadn't been told about the envoy, so she must not have been included this time. Their trip to Pastel had been mostly uneventful, with group drama and one bandit attack being the only disturbances. The queen there had treated them well; Sayo wondered why an envoy was being sent again.

"Who else is going?" Sayo curbed her other questions and asked only the most important one. She figured Yukina would be included, but wasn't sure who else to expect.

Lisa listed the people on her fingers. "Yukina, Ako, Rinko, Tomoe, and Princess Himari." That was an interesting group of people. They had lost Sayo but gained two high status residents of the castle.

"The princess is going?" Sayo had never spoken with the princess or with her personal knight, but she had seen them multiple times. She still wasn't sure how much political power the princess had, even after being here all this time. Sayo still heard rumors about her failed proposals and disappointed suitors.

Lisa nodded, stowing the last of the arrows away. "It's a diplomatic envoy. I think, and don't tell anyone else this." Lisa leaned in close, despite there not being another person within eyesight. "But I think they suspect Pastel of sending the intruder."

That made sense to Sayo, considering that the castle didn't seem to have any enemies. The fact that Kaoru had been one of Himari's suitors was a sign too that something more could be going on with Pastel.

"Be careful while you're there." Sayo warned as the pair walked back to the archery stalls.

Lisa nodded. "We will. Yukina's so nervous she's been sharpening her longsword all day." She laughed, a hollow sound in the open space.

When they reached the stall, they crossed back over and resumed practiced.

The air was tense now, the threat of Pastel looming over both of their minds.


	28. Chapter 28

In the morning, Sayo went to bid the envoy farewell before starting work for the day. She stopped by the stables to say goodbye to her friends and to wish them luck.

They all came heavily armed and well armored, a worrying sign of what was to come.

Sayo tried not to let it bother her as she said her goodbyes. She still wondered why she wasn't being sent, since she went last time, but didn't ask about it. She allowed herself a small wave as they rode out of the stable gate and a quiet prayer for safe travels.

She must've stood there for a while after they left, because Kanon came over to reassure her that everything would be fine.

Sayo could only hope so.

She had morning kitchen duty after that, and had an odd feeling of tension in her stomach each time she looked Tsugumi's way. Perhaps it was due to their training, which was scheduled for that evening. Or maybe Sayo had caught a stomach bug of some kind. Whatever it was, Sayo ignored it as she completed her tasks for the kitchen.

After she was done, she bid the kitchen staff farewell to go train. She took her wood sword and shield and worked in the training field alone. She practiced a form Lisa taught her, one that utilized a shield block into a dodge. It was quiet, but still satisfying training.

Next was lunch, which was also a quieter affair than usual. Hina sat with her that day, providing chatter, but it wasn't the same as having her whole group of friends around. Hina also brought up the topic of increased castle defense, which had become a popular point of gossip around the castle.

Once she was done eating, Sayo was scheduled for afternoon guard duty. She climbed up to the northeast tower and took her post, watching out over the city. This was the same as usual, a bit chilly due to the changing weather but uneventful.

As her guard duty passed by, Sayo planned how she would teach Tsugumi to use a knife. The woman already knew how to hold one, but not in the grip required for fighting. Sayo would have to retrain her on how to hold it and on how to strike with it. They should also cover dodging, since if Tsugumi was fighting with the knife then her opponent would certainly be armed.

When Sayo's shift ended, she was satisfied with her plan. She still felt oddly nervous, but put that down to not being that familiar with knives in the first place.

Dinner was even quieter than lunch, with Hina choosing to sit with other people this time. Sayo ate alone, savoring every bite of the delicious food. After dinner ended, she had an hour until she was scheduled to meet Tsugumi.

Sayo went to the store houses, where some weapons were kept. She looked for a knife similar in size to the ones they used in the kitchen, since that was the size Tsugumi had access to. She found one that was close enough to the right size and took it.

Next, Sayo walked towards the stable gate to head to the field. She had almost made it to the gate, just outside the stable, when a voice called out to her.

"Yoooo." Came the familiar lilting tone. "Over here." Sayo turned to her right and saw Moca leaning in a nearby hallway. The other woman was dressed casually that evening but carried a dagger at her hip.

Sayo resisted a sigh; she didn't want to be late, but hopefully she'd still be on time even if she talked to Moca. "Good evening." She said politely as she walked towards the other woman.

"I need a favor." Moca stood up straight, which was odd for her, glancing around as if to see if anyone else were there. "It's a secret mission, actually. You up for it?"

This time Sayo did sigh. "What is it?" She asked, crossing her arms. Moca could be difficult to deal with.

"We suspect there's a spy in the castle." Moca said seriously and quietly, leaning in towards Sayo. "And since you caught the intruder, we know you're trustworthy."

"Thanks…" Sayo said dryly.

Moca raised one eyebrow. "We need you to keep an ear and eye out for that spy, and report 'em if you find them. We suspect they're from Pastel, but don't have anything else to go on." She still spoke oddly, but her tone indicated how serious this was.

"Will do." Sayo didn't have a choice but to accept. "I have a question for you though." Something had been bothering her ever since she met Moca. "What exactly do you do here?" Maybe it was rude to ask, but she had been living here for months now and still didn't know.

Moca laughed at that, a sort of cackling that Sayo would expect from a witch. "It's a secret." She said between chuckles, turning to walk away from Sayo. "Have fun with Tsugu tonight, if she comes home with so much as a scratch Moca knows where to find you~" The last part was said in a sing song voice, cutesy and threatening at the same time.

"We'll be careful." Sayo accepted that as the end of the conversation since Moca was walking away, so she continued her trip out of the castle.

She was early to the field, but only by a little bit. Sayo took out the knife and practiced some stabbing routines as well as dodges, to make sure she was ready. When she saw Tsugumi approaching in the distance, her rebellious stomach turned over nervously.

"Hey Sayo!" Tsugumi was no longer wearing an apron, and instead was dressed in a casual skirt and blouse. It wasn't great for fighting, but still caught Sayo's eye.

"Hello." Sayo managed a response, adjusting the knife in her hand so the blade was turned towards the ground. "How are you tonight?" She made small talk, casually.

"I'm doing well, you?" Tsugumi smiled, still radiant in the low evening light.

"I'm fine." Sayo couldn't say she wasn't doing so great because there was a spy in the castle, most of her friends were gone, and her stomach was trying to eat itself. Fine would have to do. "Are you ready?"

"Absolutely." Tsugumi nodded firmly, so Sayo handed her the knife. She closed her hand around it in the way she would normally hold it for cooking.

"Let's start with your grip." Sayo gently placed her right hand over Tsugumi's, moving her fingers around the knife handle. "This is for thrusting, not chopping. A good grip is essential." Once Tsugumi's grip was correct, Sayo let her hand go. "Memorize how that feels."

For the next twenty minutes they practiced leaving the grip and then returning to it, over and over until Tsugumi could do it perfectly three times in a row.

Next they worked on a basic thrust, just going straight forward with the knife. Sayo explained that Tsugumi would likely never need to use this, since anyone who saw the chef with a knife in her hand would probably back off anyway. Tsugumi chuckled at that, but still wanted to learn the maneuver.

They practiced it on the air for a while, until it was solidly down.

"The last part for today is dodging." Sayo reached to take the knife back, wrapping the blade in a cloth and putting it on the ground. She grabbed a nearby stick, snapping it down to about the same size. "We'll use a stick instead for this part." Sayo decided to do it this way to prevent accidental stabbings. "In order to dodge a knife strike, you have to see where it is coming from ahead of time. Read your opponents movements and get out of the way before they get there." Sayo handed Tsugumi the stick. "Use the striking motion you learned and try to hit me."

Tsugumi seemed doubtful, but did as she was told. As she thrust towards Sayo's exposed stomach, Sayo stepped to the right and let the thrust go right past her. She dropped both of her hands on Tsugumi's wrist, grasping it to prevent her from pulling back.

"With that dodge, I have stopped you from stabbing me and have some control over your knife hand." Sayo said as she released Tsugumi's wrist. She took the stick back and pointed it in Tsugumi's direction. "Now you try."

It took a few tries for Tsugumi to successfully dodge the stick, but once she did she had it down. She quickly picked up on the grab maneuver as well, following through completely on the dodge.

When they were finished with that move, they were done for the night.

"You're a good teacher, Sayo." Tsugumi said brightly as they walked back towards the castle. "Thank you for teaching me."

For what felt like the hundredth time around Tsugumi, Sayo's cheeks warmed. She wondered if this was how Tsugumi felt when Sayo complemented her teaching skills. "You're a good learner." She responded, walking by Tsugumi's side.

She prayed Tsugumi would never need the knife skills, but if she did then Sayo was glad to have taught her.


	29. Chapter 29

Sayo had guard duty the next morning, so she found herself climbing the tower as the sun rose in the distance. With the coming of winter, the sun was rising a little later each day.

Hina was already up on the walls when Sayo reached the top of the tower, since she worked longer shifts than Sayo did. She waved excitedly when Sayo looked her way, full of energy even this early in the morning.

Since they were stationed on opposite walls, Sayo spent her shift moving back and forth between the two northern towers. Between the envoy being sent to Pastel and Moca's request for her to look out for a spy, Sayo couldn't help but worry. She worried about an attack, an infiltration, about injury befalling her home and friends.

As she worried, an idea came to her. There was one person here, who was currently nearby, who she could trust to tell her the truth unconditionally. That person was Hina.

Hina had never lied to her, not once in her life. After Sayo apologized for being an asshole, Hina had told Sayo about her travels, none of which involved going to Pastel. That meant the chance of her being this spy was nearly zero, and if Sayo asked her about it she would spill everything she knew.

Sayo looked over to where Hina was patrolling the south wall, calling her name once to get her attention. Hina turned with a small jump, so Sayo waved once for her to come over.

Hina responded to the summons quickly, jogging over the east wall to join Sayo on the north one. Sayo stood near the center of the wall and made Hina come to her there so it would be harder for someone to eavesdrop on the conversation.

"Did you see something?" Hina called over as she got nearer, peeking over the wall as she moved.

Sayo shook her head. "No, everything's fine. I want to talk to you about something."

"Really?" Hina reached Sayo, a grin growing on her face. She bounced lightly on the balls of her feet as if she couldn't contain her excitement.

"Yes." Sayo reminded herself that, even if she was annoyed by her enthusiasm, Hina didn't mean anything by it. "Have you ever been to Pastel?" She might as well ask just to make sure before she continued.

Hina shook her head. "No, I've never been there." She responded without taking time to think about it. If it was anyone but Hina, there could've been a chance that they were lying. Sometimes Hina got confused about details, but she never outright lied. Sayo didn't think she was even capable of it.

"Good." Sayo lowered the volume of her voice for the next part, almost to a whisper. "We suspect that there may be a spy in the castle, perhaps from Pastel. Can you help keep an eye out for anyone suspicious?"

"Absolutely!" Hina didn't seem to understand the need for discretion, as she raised her voice loudly. "I'll catch them, you'll see." She lifted both of her fists in a mock punching stance, as if squaring off with an invisible enemy.

Though inappropriately loud, it was good to have her helping. "Let me know if you find anything, and don't tell anyone else." Sayo gave her further instruction. "Go back to your post for now, we can talk about it more later."

"Aye aye!" Hina raised her hand in a salute before spinning on one heel to head back to her assigned wall. Sayo walked towards the northwest tower, ears peeled just in case someone had been eavesdropping there. She was relieved to find no one inside as she climbed to resume keeping watch.

The rest of her guard duty went by uneventfully, with little happening besides the normal groups of townspeople milling about.

Sayo was relieved of her duty before Hina, so she headed down to eat without her. That meant that, since all of her friends had been sent on the envoy, she was once again eating alone. Though she had traveled alone for so long and should've been used to eating by herself, it felt strange to go back to doing so.

She never thought she would have this thought about her sister, but luckily Hina soon joined her. "Hi big Sis!" She said as she plopped down across from Sayo at the table, speaking at a high volume. "I have an update on that super secret mission! I thought about and I don't even know anyone from Pastel." Hina leaned in over her food, both eyebrows raised. "So I've got nothing so far."

That was what Sayo had expected, considering that she'd only asked Hina to help a couple hours before and her twin had been on guard duty since then. She bit back a retort, remembering that she was to treat Hina with respect. "Keep looking, they could be anywhere." Sayo responded quietly.

The twins continued to make conversation, with Hina telling a story about a dog she'd pet in town the previous day. This was a good story, Sayo decided as she listened, since it involved dogs. It didn't help to lift her mood, however, since it only made her want to pet the dog. She thanked Hina for sharing the story regardless.

After lunch was over, Sayo headed to the kitchen. There Tsugumi was waiting, precious Tsugumi who smiled when Sayo walked in and thanked her again for the knife training.

Again Sayo flushed, deflecting any praise away. Every time Tsugumi so much looked at her these days she could feel her face warming. Though embarrassed, she found her mood lifted as she set off to the market to buy some fresh fish. She saw a dog out there too, and wondered if it was the same dog Hina pet the day before.

Sayo could almost forget her earlier loneliness when she returned to the kitchen and Tsugumi invited her to help bake a pie. Though they only spent a small amount of time together each day, Tsugumi was still one of her friends in the castle. Learning how to bake with her had become one of Sayo's favorite things to do here.

As Sayo added ingredients to the dough, thinking carefully about her measurements, the thoughts of spies, envoys, and dangers slipped away.

* * *

For the next week, nothing out of the ordinary occurred. Sayo continued looking out for a spy with no results. The castle was quiet, but the people inside carried a distinct tension. Not knowing what could happen made Sayo nervous too, haunting her as she stood guard each day.

One afternoon, after a tense morning standing guard, Sayo was in the kitchen. She had just finished her duties for the day. Since Lisa was out of the castle, she found herself spending more time in the kitchen after her shifts. There wasn't anybody waiting for her at the practice field, so there wasn't any reason to hurry out there.

Tsugumi and Saya were working together to chop meat and vegetables, adding them to a pot. Sayo watched from nearby, participating in the conversations.

"Have you heard anything about the envoy?" Saya asked Tsugumi as she dumped some food in the pot.

"I haven't." Tsugumi's mouth was set in a straight line, likely from worry. "But I'm sure they're fine." She still tried to sound chipper, but Sayo could see through the fake smile that followed.

"You're close with Tomoe and Princess Himari, aren't you?" Saya didn't seem to know when to let a topic go. "Do you know why they went?"

Tsugumi shook her head. "I don't know more than anybody else, just that they're on an envoy to Pastel." She chopped the meat a little bit faster as she spoke, not looking up from it.

Now Saya turned to Sayo. "I wonder what's going on with them." She mused, looking at Sayo as if asking a question. Sayo just shrugged her shoulders in response.

"I heard that things have been a mess with Pastel ever since the failed marriage proposal." Aya, who was preparing some dough on the other side of the kitchen, chimed into the conversation.

To Sayo's ears, that sounded like new information. "Where did you hear that?" She turned towards Aya, calling her question across the kitchen.

"Hmm." Aya continued kneading the bread dough. "I don't quite remember, maybe I heard it from Hina?" She chuckled lightly, scolding her own poor memory.

From Hina?

That answer, something about it didn't feel right.

For all of her flaws Hina wasn't a gossiper, and she was new to the castle and not plugged into the comings and goings of anyone except for Sayo and herself. Even if she had heard something, she wouldn't have cared enough to remember something that didn't matter to her.

Most importantly, if she had heard something like that, something that related to Pastel, she would've told Sayo about it when discussing the spy.

"I don't think so, Hina's not the type to gossip." Sayo played it cool, taking a few steps towards Aya while keeping her hands by her sides. It could be nothing, she told herself, stay calm.

Aya turned around to continue the conversation, leaving the dough on the table behind her. "I think she said you went there because of it." Aya was smiling, a hollow and empty grin.

And that, Sayo thought, sealed it.

She never told Hina that she went to Pastel, never told Hina about the one time Ako had brought up suitor issues. Hina didn't know about the envoy Sayo went on, which meant Aya was lying.

"Hina doesn't know about that trip." Sayo slowly moved her right hand to her sword hilt, keeping her distance from Aya. "So I don't think you could've heard it from her." Tsugumi's head popped up from her chopping, swiveling towards Sayo and Aya. "In fact, neither of you worked here then. So tell me, where did you hear about the envoy?"

The slipping of Aya's smile was the only warning Sayo had. The girl lunged forward, darting past Sayo before she could draw her sword.

As Sayo spun and drew, Aya grabbed a kitchen knife from a nearby table, brandishing it in Sayo's direction. "I didn't want it to come to this." She said in a watery tone, backing towards the kitchen door. If there was any doubt remaining about who was the spy, it was gone now.

Sayo stepped towards her, prepared to engage. Neither of them were expecting Tsugumi to step in the way.

The head cook had left her knife behind and was standing between Aya and the door. She held both hands out in a non-threatening manner.

"Tsugumi…" Aya turned the knife towards Tsugumi, a single tear escaping from her eyes. "Please, I don't want to hurt you. Just let me go." She was too close to Tsugumi; if Sayo moved things could end badly.

"Put down the knife." Tsugumi remained calm, as she always did, hands steady. "Please."

Sayo was about to move anyway and take her chances when Aya lurched forward. She stabbed the knife forward much too slowly for someone trained with one, likely meant to just make Tsugumi move out of the way.

Indeed, Tsugumi dodged the strike, sidestepping it the same way she practiced with Sayo just over a week before. She also executed the other move she learned, clamping down her hands on Aya's wrist and pulling her off balance.

"Hey!" Aya exclaimed, trying to pull her arm back.

That was Sayo's que. She stepped towards the pair, using the hilt of her sword to knock the knife out of Aya's hand. It clattered to the ground, and Sayo quickly kicked it away.

Saya, who Sayo hadn't noticed leaving earlier, burst back into the kitchen with a couple of other guards in tow. They quickly took over holding onto Aya, bringing her to her knees and using some kitchen twine to tie her wrists.

By all rotten luck, Hina appeared in the process, likely brought there by the movement of other guards. She stopped in the doorway, gaping with her mouth wide open. When Aya looked up and saw her, the tears appeared in full.

Sayo walked over to Tsugumi, who was standing near her work station and looking down at her hands. "Are you okay?" She asked, leaning over slightly to look for injuries.

"Honestly, I'm a little ruffled." Tsugumi's shoulders shook minutely. "I know I said I wanted to do more, but I think I'm good actually. Being a cook is plenty." She brought her eyes up to Sayo's, wiping at them with one hand.

Sayo swallowed once. "I'm sorry I put you in danger." If she hadn't confronted Aya right then, right here, then Tsugumi would've been completely safe.

"It's alright." A small smile had returned to Tsugumi's face. "I know this is odd, but do you mind if I hug you?" The threat of tears was still present in her eyes.

Never one to turn down Tsugumi, Sayo lifted both of her arms. Tsugumi stepped forward, wrapping her arms around Sayo's waist. Gently closing her arms around the shorter woman, Sayo really noticed how small Tsugumi was, how nicely she fit in Sayo's embrace.

Before she could blink, the moment was over. Tsugumi pulled back, gave her eyes one last wipe, and decreed that the kitchen needed to get back to work.

The guards were getting ready to escort Aya to the cells, so Sayo joined Hina by the door to watch her go.

"Am I that stupid?" Hina asked as Aya was walked past her, hesitating to stare at her with wide eyes. "Did you just use me?" The guards allowed the pause since Hina was one of their own.

"No." Aya hadn't stopped crying. "We met by coincidence; I really wanted to be your friend." She sniffled, but was unable to wipe her face due to her hands being tied. "I'll miss you, Hina."

That was all it took for Hina to start crying too as the guards walked Aya out of the kitchen.

Sayo pat her on the back silently, wondering just what could possibly happen next.


	30. Chapter 30

After the incident, the next few days passed with thankfully little activity. Hina visited Aya in the prison block after a couple days and seemed happier after she did. At the very least she said things were boppin.

Sayo still worried about the envoy, about her friends. She hoped everything was going alright for them.

With Tsugumi, something had changed again. Sayo couldn't put her finger on it, the tension she felt in the kitchen. It was getting harder to maintain eye contact, which had never been a problem for Sayo before. They still talked as normal, so she tried not to let it bother her or interfere with her work.

One afternoon, around eight days after the spy was captured, Sayo was fetching some water for the kitchen when she saw a group of familiar faces passing through the courtyard.

Yukina, Lisa, Rinko, and Ako were all walking by,, dressed in full armor. Sayo couldn't help but smile when she saw them; they must've just returned from the envoy. Lisa noticed her as well and waved broadly in Sayo's direction.

Though Sayo carried a full bucket of water, she still turned to meet them in the middle of the courtyard. The four stopped to wait for her.

"Welcome back." Sayo said as she reached them and looked between them. They appeared to be unharmed, which was good news.

"Thank you." Yukina was smiling slightly, which was about as pleased of an expression as she could make.

Sayo shifted the bucket in her hands. "How was your trip?" She asked, eyes still passing between them.

"It was good!" Lisa replied enthusiastically. Perhaps too much so, Sayo noticed. "We shouldn't hold you up, so we'll tell you about it later." Something about her tone sounded strange.

Sayo blinked once, but decided not to question it. "Okay." She would've shrugged if she hadn't been carrying the water.

"You should stop by upstairs when you've finished running errands." Lisa pointed up as she made the suggestion, really asking Sayo to meet her in her quarters. Ah, now it made sense. This was a public space, and though they found they spy sometimes the walls had ears.

"I will. Good to see all of you." Sayo bid the group farewell with a nod, before crossing the courtyard back towards the kitchen. The water still had to get there after all.

Once inside the kitchen, Sayo reported that the envoy had returned. This earned her a pleased smile from Tsugumi, along with asking if she'd seen Himari and Tomoe.

Sayo had to answer no to that, but told Tsugumi that if they were injured, the knights would've told her about it. Since she was going to meet Lisa later in private to discuss something, this could've in fact been false, but until proven otherwise Sayo chose to believe it.

She retrieved a few more buckets of water before being dismissed for the day. After apologizing to Tsugumi for not being able to stay late today, Sayo headed towards the stairs leading to the knights' quarters.

The knights' quarters were next to the guards' ones, so Sayo knew where to find them. She had been by Lisa and Yukina's rooms at least once before and should be able to find Lisa's.

As expected, she located Lisa's room with ease. Sayo knocked briskly, with Lisa quickly opening the door and ushering her inside. Surprisingly, Yukina wasn't present.

Once the door was shut, Lisa let out a boisterous laugh and engulfed Sayo in a hug.

"I've not sure what I've done to deserve this." Sayo spoke dryly, but accepted the gesture.

"Sorry." Lisa pulled back, still grinning. "I just couldn't help myself. It's thanks to you that we're back today!"

"What do you mean?" That didn't make much sense to Sayo, after all she hadn't been on the envoy.

Lisa gestured to a couple chairs in the room. "Come, sit, and I'll tell you." Sayo followed her, taking a seat in one of the chairs. "I didn't know this when we set out, but the purpose of the envoy was to re-write the peace treaty between Circle and Pastel. There was a some kind of problem between the rulers recently, I never did find out what." Lisa told the story, gesturing with her hands as she went. Sayo had an inkling that the breakdown between rulers had something to do with failed marriage proposals, but didn't know that for sure. "There was a problem. No matter what terms we put the queen wouldn't budge. She rejected every proposal without even reading it." Sayo tried to picture Pastel's queen in her mind, a young woman with long blonde hair. "But then, word came that you arrested the spy, and suddenly we had a bargaining chip. When we added the return of both intruders to the bargain, she finally agreed to a new treaty!" Her voice rose in satisfaction at this.

Sayo hadn't realized just how important catching that spy was. She wondered how Tsugumi would feel about the information, how she would feel about her contribution. "Wow." She managed to say. "So they're sending both of them back?"

Lisa nodded. "Yes. An escort is leaving tomorrow to return them." Hina would be sad, Sayo thought. Even though Aya was a spy, it seemed Hina still considered her a friend.

"Good." Sayo nodded, still thinking it would be good to have them out of the castle, despite Hina's misgivings. "I'm glad to have been of assistance, even from here."

"We couldn't have done it without you." Lisa shook her head.

"How were your travels?" Sayo changed the subject slightly, leaning back in her chair. "Run into any bandits?"

Lisa let out a single low chuckle. "No, they seem to have learned their lesson from last time."

"Excellent."

The pair continued conversing, choosing to stay and talk rather than practice swordsmanship for the day. After a long few weeks of travel Lisa needed to rest, and it was nice for Sayo to spend time with her once again.

Yukina soon joined them, bringing her own rendition of the tale.

Sayo caught them up on knife training with Tsugumi and with the tale of how she caught the spy, which Lisa oohed and aahed through.

Yukina told stories about all of the cats she met in Pastel on this visit and Lisa shared some of the crazier things Kaoru had said to her.

Having them back, talking to them and spending time together, brought warmth to Sayo's chest. It felt like home.

* * *

Now that her friends were back in the castle and the threat of an attack was gone, things were finally completely back to normal.

As sad as Hina was to see them go, it was a great relief to Sayo when the two prisoners were escorted out of the castle. She was still vigilant on guard duty, but didn't have to worry any longer about an attack.

A couple days later on one cold morning, Sayo was in the kitchen helping Tsugumi make some berry filled pastries. These were significantly more complicated than the other baked goods Sayo had helped with before, so she didn't actually help with the pastry part. Instead, Sayo stirred the berry filling as it boiled.

When Tsugumi said it was done she took it off the heat, watching as Tsugumi rolled the pastries.

By the time it was cool enough to fill with, Tsugumi had finished rolling the shells. She put the filling in a funnel like tube, showing Sayo how to hold it and fill the center of the pastries.

After demonstrating the technique, Tsugumi turned towards Sayo and offered her the funnel. In that moment she looked radiant, glowing, gorgeous.

The familiar rapid beating of Sayo's heart returned, the odd feeling of a flush coming to her cheeks joining it. Why was this happening? She asked herself as she accepted the bag. Why did looking at Tsugumi make her feel this way.

She felt like the answer was something close, something that should've been obvious.

Sayo started to fill the pastries, going slowly as not to mess it up. Next to her Tsugumi prepared another funnel to join her.

She glanced to her left, watching one more time as Tsugumi masterfully completed one of the pastries.

Her heart soared and, was this...

Sayo had never been in love, not really. She'd heard about love and seen love, but hadn't felt it.

It would explain the rushing pulse and easy embarrassment, the logical side of her brain provided. The smaller emotional part added that Tsugumi was adorable and wondered what it might be like to hear her innermost thoughts, what it would be like to kiss her.

That thought paralyzed her, stopped Sayo dead in the middle of filling a pastry.

It only took a moment for Tsugumi to notice that she'd stopped. "What's wrong?" She leaned over to inspect the pastries, coming dangerously into Sayo's personal space. "It's okay if they're not perfect."

"Everything's fine." Sayo managed to lie, hopefully convincingly, as she forced her arms to keep moving. No emotional realizations here, nope that wasn't happening.

"Hmm." Tsugumi didn't seem to completely buy it, but she let it slide.

Sayo could feel a bead of sweat on her neck as she continued filling the pastries. She wanted to drop the funnel and run, escape to work through her thoughts without scrutiny, but that wasn't going to happen. Instead she had to stay and stew on her thoughts while still filling pastries.

By the time they were done, Sayo was sure Tsugumi thought she was sick or something. She sent her off with a request to rest up, which Sayo thanked her for before leaving.

She stopped only a few steps away from the kitchen to try and gather her thoughts.

The way Tsugumi looked at her, with care in her eyes, only solidified the thoughts Sayo had before.

Somehow, she had fallen in love with Tsugumi.

Sayo took a deep breath, and then another. She had to go meet Lisa for archery practice, so she needed to at the very least calm herself.

She stood outside the kitchen for a few minutes, eventually reaching a point where she was as calm as she could get given the circumstances.

Sayo passed through the castle without stopping for conversation, exiting through the stable gate and soon reaching the archery range. She beat Lisa there that day, so she picked a stall and started shooting.

Having the few extra minutes helped clear her head, even as Tsugumi's smiling face kept flashing by in her mind.

Even with that distraction, Sayo was able to shoot accurately at the target. A far cry from the last time she couldn't focus, when she was in crisis over Hina.

Lisa soon arrived, taking up the stall to her right. She started shooting as well, hitting near the center of the target with most of her shots.

Sayo watched with pride as Lisa hit the bullseye. She then turned towards Sayo with a bright grin.

"You have the fundamentals down." Sayo couldn't help but smile back. "All you need to do now is keep practicing."

"Thanks for all your help!" Lisa exclaimed, still smiling. "I'd still love to practice with you, if you'll have me."

"Of course." Sayo nodded, not about to turn her friend away.

"We'll keep working on your shield skills too." Lisa slung her bow over her shoulder, likely getting ready to retrieve her arrows. "You still have a few more basics to master."

Sayo chuckled. "Your archery started at a higher point and didn't have as far to go." She crossed her arms in fake annoyance.

"You're right." Lisa laughed. The conversation lulled for a moment, but Lisa was never one to let silence reign for long. "I heard something interesting the other day, but I wanted to ask you. Have you been spending more time with Tsugumi lately?"

Interesting that she would come up the same day Sayo was so conflicted about her feelings for her. "I suppose a little, we did have one knife training session together. I have been staying late in the kitchen too…" Sayo trailed off, not sure what else to add. Her feelings were a new development, but she wasn't sure if she wanted to share them quite yet.

"Well, I wish you the best of luck!" Lisa flashed a thumbs up, not even needing to be told about Sayo's feelings, and Sayo felt her flush return.

"It's not like that." She shook her head, raising both hands in a dismissive manner to deflect the topic.

Lisa tilted her head with one eyebrow raised. "Alright." She said in a sing-song tone. "If you need help with anything, just let me know." She offered with a grin.

"I don't know what you're talking about, but thanks." Sayo replied with a sigh.

Lisa only winked back, hopping over the stall to go fetch her arrows. Sayo followed suit, and the two soon resumed shooting.

Was Sayo really so obvious that Lisa could read her feelings only an hour after she realized them? Maybe Sayo was just reading too much into Lisa's words and she wasn't referring to Sayo's complicated and disastrous newly labeled emotions.

However it was, Sayo knew she would need to make a decision about what to do soon. She knew that the next time she went back to the kitchen, she would only be struck again.


	31. Chapter 31

The following day, in the morning, Sayo stood up in the northeast tower on guard duty. She was trying to put the previous day's debacle out of her mind, thinking about doing her job well instead of her wayward feelings.

Sayo had to wear a coat for guard duty, since the weather had grown colder once again. The chill didn't prevent her from being attentive, watching for danger as she did each day.

She was in the northeast tower, opposite from another guard in the southwest. Activity in the market was starting to slow as winter approached.

It had only been an hour since her shift started when Sayo heard the sound of approaching footsteps. Someone was climbing the tower, perhaps to visit her. She hoped they weren't bringing trouble, as people who visited her during shifts often did.

Silver hair appeared over the edge of the stairwell, revealing Yukina as her visitor. The knight was dressed similarly to Sayo, in a thick coat and pants with a sword strapped to her hip as usual.

"Hello." Sayo greeted her with a nod, watching as Yukina approached her. "What brings you up here?" They had just seen each other an hour before in the dining hall.

"I want to talk to you about something." Yukina replied simply, her expression neutral. She stopped directly in front of Sayo and looked up at her.

Sayo crossed her arms. "Something we couldn't have talked about at breakfast?" She asked with one eyebrow raised.

"That's correct." Yukina gave a small nod. Sayo wondered what this could be about then, had something happened with their friends? She didn't ask, just waited for Yukina to continue speaking. "You should ask Tsugumi out." Yukina spoke bluntly as usual, getting directly to the point.

Well, of all things she could've said Sayo wasn't expecting that. Lisa really must've seen right through her the day before if Yukina was bringing it up now. Those two seemed to tell each other everything.

"That's familiar, you telling me to ask someone out." Sayo deflected for a moment, calling back to the previous incident with Lisa to try and buy a few moments to think.

"I'm serious." Yukina didn't take the bait. "If you like her, then you should go for it." When Yukina put it that way, it sounded so simple. Nothing ever was though.

Sayo's face warmed against the cold. "Who even said I like her?" She blustered, crossing her arms and looking away.

"Lisa." Again, Yukina gave a short response. Ah yes, of course it had been Lisa. "I don't think she's wrong."

Sayo inhaled deeply, trying to gather her thoughts. They were right, she did like Tsugumi. But to ask her out? Sayo wasn't prepared to do that. The chances of success were miniscule. After all, Tsugumi was the head chef in a prosperous castle while Sayo was just a simple guard. As much as she liked Tsugumi, she was nowhere near good enough for her. There wasn't anything Sayo could provide her.

"Even if I did, and I'm not saying I do." Sayo re-established eye contact and pointed with one finger for emphasis at the last part of her sentence. "She'd reject me for sure." That was the conclusion she had come to.

Yukina shook her head, smiling slightly. "I wouldn't be so sure." That was all she said before just staring at Sayo cryptically, a knowing look in her golden eyes. It was irritating. When Sayo didn't respond, Yukina shrugged. "That's what I think."

Sayo sighed at that. "Thanks, I guess."

Yukina nodded once and gave a small wave. "Good luck." She said, and then turned back towards the stairs. As she vanished down the steps, she left Sayo with a slew of thoughts.

Sayo thought about Tsugumi, about her focused determination to get every task assigned to her done on time. She thought about her warm smile and her sunny disposition, her desire to be useful and how hard she worked. Again, the thought that Tsugumi was way out of Sayo's league passed through her mind.

Did Yukina, and by extension Lisa, really think that Sayo had a chance? Sure, her archery skills were slightly above average, but other than that what did she have to offer? She already taught Tsugumi her one knife skill and there wasn't anything else.

No, she thought, she shouldn't think about their relationship that way. After all, hadn't she built a meaningful friendship with Tsugumi regardless of that? There was more to her relationships than just what she provided, or what they provided her.

Her friends thought she stood a chance, so she just might.

Most importantly, if there was even the slightest chance that Tsugumi returned her feelings, then she should go for it. Sayo didn't get where she was by staying quiet, by not taking risks.

Her head clearer than it had been in a couple days, Sayo used the remainder of her shift to start thinking of how she wanted to ask the question.

She had to plan ahead if she wanted to find success.

* * *

Omake:

Ever since Sayo taught Tsugumi how to wield a knife, she was having trouble keeping her eyes off of her. It's not that she just started finding Sayo attractive; Tsugumi had always thought that Sayo was attractive.

No, it was something else.

Something about the way Sayo focused on teaching her, eyes narrowed and mind ready, drew her in and kept her gaze.

Even during the horrible incident with Aya, where Tsugumi was almost grievously injured, she was thinking about Sayo. What a preposterous notion, she thought after. Sayo was a trained combatant; she didn't need a simple cook worrying about her or trying to protect her.

And yet, Tsugumi did.

She caught herself staring, noticing only when Sayo looked back with minutely widened eyes.

Tsugumi told herself to stop, let it go. There was no way she'd be good enough for her. She wasn't good enough, not even close, so she would do nothing.

There was no way Sayo would return her feelings.


	32. Chapter 32

After her guard shift, Sayo went to lunch. She played it cool, pretending like two of her friends hadn't recently confronted her over a very personal topic. She got her food and sat down without incident, joining the usual group at the table. She went over each step of the plan in her mind as she started to eat, thinking through each task ahead.

Rinko seemed to sense that something was up, glancing between Sayo, Yukina, and Lisa suspiciously, but she didn't ask.

When she had moment, Sayo set down her utensil and put the first part of her plan in motion. "Lisa." She said, directing her voice at the knight. "I won't be able to make practice today."

"Oh?" A catlike grin crept onto Lisa's face. "Got a date?" She asked with one raised eyebrow.

"No." Sayo deadpanned in return.

"Okay!" Lisa flashed a thumbs up, her smile not fading. Next to her, the smirk on Yukina's face was unmistakable.

No, Sayo wasn't going to respond to that. After a moment of silence Ako jumped in to fill the gap.

The conversation continued to flow after that, with Sayo only contributing minimally. She was thinking about the next step she needed to take, which was coming up in the afternoon.

Soon Sayo finished her meal and headed off to the kitchen. The minute she walked in she could feel her heart kick up in speed. Sayo avoided maintaining long periods of eye contact with Tsugumi, finding looking at her to be distracting.

For the plan to continue she needed to talk to Saya, but when Sayo arrived she was working right next to Tsugumi. That wouldn't do, wouldn't work for the plan. She had to give up for the moment, but her chance would surely come later.

Sayo went to the market to purchase some fresh meat, and when she returned the opportunity to progress her plan came. Tsugumi was in the middle of the kitchen as usual, but Saya had moved all the way in one corner to clean some bowls.

After giving the meat to Tsugumi, Sayo was tasked to fetch a few buckets of water. She picked up the bucket as normal, but then walked towards Saya instead of towards the door.

"Can I ask you something?" Sayo muttered quietly as she reached Saya. When Saya nodded, she continued. "Can I use the kitchen tonight?"

"You can." Saya matched her volume, likely understanding that secrecy needed to be maintained. "I'll make sure it's empty. You'll have to bring your own ingredients and clean anything you use."

"Understood." Sayo had expected that; it was why she cancelled practice with Lisa for the afternoon. "Thank you."

"You're welcome!" Saya shot her a thumbs up, and Sayo hoped she hadn't been too obvious with her intent.

Sayo walked away casually, as if she hadn't stopped to speak with Saya in the first place, and continued with her job. Step two was complete.

When she was finished with fetching the water, Sayo only stayed for a few minutes. She had to use her time well today; as much as she wanted to talk with Tsugumi she didn't have any time to spare. Besides, her face already felt flushed just from exchanging a few words, who knew what a few sentences might do to her.

Once she left the kitchen, Sayo exited out of the castle for the second time that day. She walked back to the market, intent on buying the supplies.

After all this time, Sayo had greatly improved in haggling and in locating the foods she needed. Despite her increase in skills, it still took a couple hours to buy everything she needed for tonight.

Soon her hands were full of bags, each containing the ingredients of her plan. Step three was complete as she walked back to the castle, hurrying to take the bags to her quarters.

The rest of Sayo's day went by in a mildly nervous blur. She was going to bake all on her own tonight, making what would be a very important batch of cookies. She knew how to do it, but still she worried about messing it up.

After dinner ended, Sayo knew that the kitchen would be open for at least an hour, so she went back to her quarters to double check that she had everything she needed and to burn some time.

Finally, two hours after that, she decided it was time to go. Sayo picked up all her bags and moved downstairs and towards the kitchen. She only saw a couple people, one of which was Moca, who thankfully didn't ask any questions.

When Sayo pushed open the kitchen door, she prayed it would be empty. When she saw that everyone was gone, Sayo silently thanked Saya for her help. She put her bags down at a workstation and lit a candle for light.

Sayo grabbed a bowl from storage and started the process of making the cookies. She measured the dry ingredients carefully, adding them one by one to the bowl.

When it came time to crack the eggs, she managed it without getting any eggshells in the mix. Sayo added the correct amount of each ingredient, making sure to do it just right.

When it came time to stir, Sayo mixed the dough vigorously. It thickened as she stirred, and was soon ready for rolling and baking.

Next, Sayo rolled the dough flat, measuring to make sure it was the correct thickness. She used a knife to cut it into shapes, ones she hoped would be hearts after baking.

Once they were cut Sayo set them on the tray and lit the oven, building a fire to bake her cookies.

While the fire warmed, she started making the frosting, mixing sugar with a few other ingredients.

By the time she finished the frosting, the oven was ready. Sayo put the tray in, keeping an eye on it the entire time it was in the oven.

The ten minutes it took for the cookies to bake felt like an hour. She heard someone walk by outside, and hoped they wouldn't come in and catch her.

After those ten minutes passed, Sayo took the cookies out of the oven. She put the tray on the table and had to wait again for the cookies to cool. They hadn't retained the heart shapes, looking more like lopsided circles after baking.

Soon they were cool enough to frost. Sayo frosted the first and then tried it; if she needed to redo them then it would be best to know at the beginning.

It was okay. There was nothing wrong with the cookie, but there was also nothing special about it. Sadly, this was probably the best she could do, so it would have to be good enough.

Sayo frosted the rest of the cookies, waiting one last time for them to set. She had purchased a small clear bag to put them in, so she started adding the cookies gently.

The bag was about ten centimeters tall and five centimeters wide. It held about twelve cookies, which was plenty. There were a few extra, which, since they were there, Sayo ended up eating. The second one tasted better than the first, somehow.

Sayo put out the stove and cleaned the bowl and pan she used, placing them back exactly where they had been. For her extra ingredients, she didn't have much left over. She just added them to the ones stored in the kitchen, hoping nobody would notice, but knowing that Tsugumi probably would.

Step four was complete.

When step five came the next day, Sayo hoped Tsugumi would accept them.


	33. Chapter 33

Sayo could not remember a time when she had felt this nervous.

Butterflies fluttered in her stomach all morning on guard duty. She almost jumped out of her skin in the afternoon when Tsugumi asked her about the mysterious extra egg that appeared in their stock overnight. Somehow she managed to respond that she didn't know, though she wasn't sure if Tsugumi believed it.

According to the plan, Sayo was to ask the question in the evening, after Tsugumi got off work. She didn't want to bother her while she was cooking and there were always other people in the kitchen, so during the day wouldn't work. She had to manage her behavior until then.

That was how Sayo ended up waiting, after the sun had set, outside of the kitchen door. She leaned against the wall, bag of cookies in hand, with only her thoughts for company.

She had planned ahead for the cookies, but she still hadn't figured out the rest of it. How could she put her feelings into words, what could she possibly say to Tsugumi? How could she even express the depth of her emotions?

Maybe this was a bad idea. Maybe she should just go and forget the whole thing.

Sayo stood up straight, looking towards the kitchen door. It might be a good idea to abandon this and just leave.

She turned away and had only taken one step when she saw Hina passing by at the end of the hall. Her twin seemed to have spotted her as well, since she grinned and turned to walk towards Sayo with a wave.

"Hey big Sis!" She called as she bounced Sayo's way. "What's up?"

"Not much." Sayo replied simply, but then had a surprising thought. She wondered if Hina could help her and if she had the right to ask, if she had the right to ask anything of Hina. "Actually, I'm having a tough time." Sayo admitted, bringing a frown to Hina's face. "Do you have a few minutes to listen?"

"Absolutely!" Hina leapt forward, lifting one of Sayo's hands between hers. "I always have time for you!"

"Thank you." Sayo mustered a small smile as Hina released her hand. "I'm thinking about, umm," Sayo cleared her throat. "Asking Tsugumi out on a date." Hina opened her mouth as if to respond, but shut it when she remembered she was supposed to be listening. "But I'm worried she'll reject me. I'm not good enough for her, not by a long shot."

"What? You're the greatest there's no way she'll reject you!" Hina apparently lost against her ingrained desire to talk. It was impressive that she made it as long as she did. "And if she does I'll fight her!" Hina lifted one fist.

"Please don't." Sayo smiled despite herself.

"I can't imagine Tsugumi doing that though." Hina mused, moving her hand to her face in a contemplative motion. "She always talks about how great you are." Hina didn't seem to understand the weight of these almost muttered words, but they brought a blush to Sayo's cheeks. "You should go for it!" She finished loudly, and with an enthusiastic nod.

The words were surprisingly wise, for Hina. "Thanks Hina, for listening and for the advice." Sayo couldn't remember the last time she thanked Hina for anything.

"Any time!" Hina beamed in the low light. "Good luck!"

They shared a few more words before Hina headed on her way. It would be best if she wasn't there when Tsugumi appeared.

The butterflies came back in full force as Sayo resumed waiting. She had shown up way too early, but she didn't want to risk missing Tsugumi.

Finally, after what felt like forever, Tsugumi walked out of the kitchen door. Saya was a couple steps behind her, and she walked right into Tsugumi when the head chef stopped abruptly. She looked directly at Sayo with wide brown eyes, eyes jumping from the bag in her hands up to her face.

"I'll just be on my way." Saya broke the tension, moving around Tsugumi to stroll off at a rapid pace.

Then it was just the two of them, Tsugumi and Sayo, standing outside the kitchen, waiting for the other to speak.

"D-do you have a minute? I'd like to tell you something." Sayo mentally cursed as she stuttered. Her heart thundered treacherously in her chest.

Tsugumi nodded, still not speaking. She held her hands together in front of her body.

Sayo took a deep breath. "Tsugumi," She tried to speak slowly, but the words came out far too fast and not in the idea order. "You are an amazing person. You light up the lives of everyone you know with your kindness, compassion, and skill." As Sayo spoke, pouring out her heart in this dim castle hallway, Tsugumi looked back with watery eyes. "You are one of the most beautiful people I have ever met and," Sayo took a shaky inhale, unable to tear her eyes from Tsugumi's. "I think I'm falling in love with you. Will you go out with me?" She thrust the bag forward as she asked the question, breaking eye contact and bowing her head forward.

Though only a moment passed with her hands outstretched, it felt like forever. Sayo reminded herself to breath, to hold her hands still.

Tsugumi took the cookies gently from her hands, so Sayo brought her head back up. Tsugumi's cheeks were splotched with red as she looked down at the bag, her hands shaking almost as badly as Sayo's.

"I…" Tsugumi sniffled once. "Thank you." She re-established eye contact, looking to be on the verge of tears. Sayo hoped she hadn't messed this up, that this wasn't about to go sideways. "I never expected this." Tsugumi wiped her nose with her arm, hiding her face behind it in the same motion.

Sayo wanted to ask what that meant, but just waited, feeling tears rise to her eyes as well.

"I accept." Tsugumi's lips lifted in a watery grin. "I'd love to go out with you, Sayo."

Sayo's heart soared. She smiled larger than she had in a long time. "Really?" She asked, stepping closer to Tsugumi.

"Yes, really." Tsugumi let out a half chuckle, also stepping closer. "I've liked you for a long time. I never imagined you felt the same way. Honestly I thought you were out of my league." The chuckle this time sounded harsher.

This came as a shock to Sayo. "Wow." With her next step she was within fifteen centimeters of Tsugumi.

"Yeah." Tsugumi just kept smiling. A moment later she was closer, much closer. "Can I kiss you?" She asked softly, in a voice that sent a trill down Sayo's spine.

Sayo inhaled shakily. "Yes."

If Sayo had thought the earlier moment felt slow, it was nothing compared to this. She closed her eyes as Tsugumi leaned it, her heart thundering in her chest. It felt like forever had passed before she felt Tsugumi's lips against her own. In that moment time went from slow to impossibly fast. Sayo felt like she was barely was able to react before it was over.

When she opened her eyes, Tsugumi was leaning away with bright pink dusting her cheeks. She grinned, broader than Sayo had seen before from her. Sayo merely breathed as she took in the sight of her, wondering how she had gotten so lucky.

"Thank you for the cookies, by the way." Tsugumi lifted the bag slightly as she spoke, and then looked down at them before pulling it open carefully and taking one out. "You've improved, these look good." She took a bite out of the cookie and, Sayo's heart skipped a beat. "Tastes good too." She grinned.

If Sayo's face hadn't been red before it certainly was now. "I'm glad." She managed to say.

"Does tomorrow work for our first date?" Tsugumi asked, and then continued to eat the cookie.

Sayo hadn't actually thought about what they'd do for the date. "Yeah, that sounds good." She'd have the next 24 hours to make a decision. "I'll pick you up from your quarters."

"I was heading there now." Tsugumi resealed the cookie bag, holding it in one hand and offering Sayo the other. "Walk back with me?"

Sayo moved slowly, intertwining her fingers with Tsugumi's. Her hand was a little sweaty, but warm and comforting to hold.

"Absolutely."


	34. Epilogue

Sayo's life had a routine to it. She got up each morning and checked the guard schedule. She straightened the papers and kept things organized. Kasumi talked to her about getting promoted, perhaps in a few months.

She would stand out on guard duty, sometimes with her twin, keeping an eye out for danger. Trouble rarely occurred, which was a blessing. Things with Pastel had been quiet since the incident, with no other danger in sight.

Sayo ate lunch with her friends, enjoying boisterous conversations about dark magic, cats, weapons, and anything else that came up. Ako was well on her way to becoming a full knight, and soon had exciting tales of her adventures to recount for the group. Lisa and Yukina reached their six months anniversary with little fuss and only a few people asked when they would be tying the knot.

Sayo would go to the kitchen and kiss her girlfriend hello. Since they were both working, they had to keep it brief. Though she was dating the head chef, Sayo still had to run errands for the kitchen like she always did. She shared words with Tsugumi between tasks, heart warm with each shared moment.

Some days Sayo stayed late to help with baking, with cookies as her specialty. She was learning how to make pies too, but they were much harder to get right and tended to explode when she tried.

When Sayo left the kitchen, she often kissed her girlfriend goodbye as well.

Other days Sayo met with the knights for training. She was still learning the shield from Lisa, but had purchased a real one to carry on the field. Sometimes Sayo trained with Hina, another step in the right direction with her sister. She had a spar scheduled with Yukina, which was a rematch for her previous loss.

In the evenings, Sayo spent time with her wonderful girlfriend. They went into town to just walk around for their first date, ending up stargazing at the training field. It was a memory Sayo would cherish for the rest of her life.

One day Sayo even cooked a whole meal for Tsugumi, though it was nowhere near the quality she wanted it to be. Tsugumi still said she loved it, loved the effort Sayo put into it.

That was enough.

After all the time Sayo had spent at the castle, it finally felt completely like home.

* * *

The End.

So this is the end of the fic, thank you everybody who has been reading it! I had a lot of fun writing it, and I hope you enjoyed it!


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